Settling In (and Other Short Tales)
by sonicfan1990
Summary: The revised summary of this collection of shorts: Chapter 1-18: Short, chronologically arranged stories of Sonic and Tails set in the Classic Era about the two growing their friendship after their first adventure together (Finished). From Chapter 19 onward: Short stories about different main characters set in the Modern Era and in the game universe.
1. Settling In - Chapter 1

**Since I now have three full weeks without lectures (Tet in my country is pretty serious business – so serious that it literally and temporarily puts schools and universities out of business as a result), I may as well spend some precious downtime writing something. This could **_**potentially**_** be a series of drabbles that center around my favorite brothers in the gaming world, depending on my mood and ideas. The series is mainly set after the events of Sonic the hedgehog 2 (although other timelines might arise every now and then). I hope you'll enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.**

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A Brand New Home

"It is GOOD to be home!" exclaimed a rather energetic hedgehog of blue as he nimbly departed from his daringly exposed spot atop the still airborne aircraft's wing and - in the same wild, carefree manner that somehow still managed to retain some form of practiced gracefulness and elegance with which he had taken off - landed softly on the rich earthly soil of the barren hilltop below.

Stretching the stiff muscles of his back and shoulders, Sonic the hedgehog at the same time opened his mouth and took a greedy inhale of the wondrously salutiferous air, untouched and unspoiled by the hands of men. "Oh how I miss this!" he muttered, a small grin curved at his lips.

Seconds later, the red biplane upon which he had rested his feet for the duration of the journey homeward came down, landing a few feet away from the hedgehog.

"Hey there, little buddy, what took you so long?" asked Sonic in a teasing tone as he turned his gaze toward the exiting pilot of the magnificent combat aerial unit.

"What on earth was that for?" said a high-pitched voice of said pilot as he quickly made his way for Sonic, twin bushy brownish yellow tails swaying back and forth behind his smaller frame. Behind him, a similarly colored robotic dog-like creature followed suit, tails waggling excitedly.

"What was what for, Tails?" inquired the curious hedgehog, head tilted to one side questioningly as he looked at the younger fox, Tails, who was wearing a concerned expression mixed with a hint of anger and a bit of relief.

"You jumped!" the young prodigious pilot answered, eyes narrowed and hands moving wildly to emphasize his point.

"I always jump; I jump a lot in fact. I jumped when we were running through the zones, I jumped when we were trying to catch Robuttnik…" Sonic began to rant. Tails, on the other hand, was anything but amused by his friend's current jovial disposition.

"You...You just jumped off the Tornado before I could make a safe landing!" the cub replied, voice raised a bit as he shot his older friend a version of, at least in his mind, an intimidating glare. Unfortunately, what came out was more of a pout – a very adorable pout that normally appeared on a child's face after that child had been denied candies and sweets. "You could have been seriously hurt."

"I'm fine, Tails, don't worry" Sonic, trying his hardest not to let out the bubbling snickers that threatened to escape his throat, replied calmly and added a dismissive wave to suppress the fox's misplaced concern. "It's perfectly safe for me. After all, I've had practice."

"You've had practice? Jumping out of airborne crafts? Seriously?" asked Tails incredulously, one eye ridge raised and both hands against his hips in a reprimanding gesture, which was rather ironic.

"Yeah."

"When?"

"Just now."

"SONIC! This is no laughing matter, you could have been seriously injured" Tails said again, shocking the chatty hedgehog into stunned silence with the unusual amount of passion that came out with each syllable pronounced. "Next time, please, _please_, wait until I am near the ground, or better yet, actually on it, before you take off."

"…Okay, okay, I get it…" Sonic replied, hands outstretched and palms open in a placating manner to appease his younger buddy. "I'll try, the key word here: try to refrain from doing it next time around, cool?" he added with a genuine smile to mask the surprise he was feeling.

At the sound of the older being's guarantee, Tails deflated visibly, his shoulders which had been stiff and square dropped at last and a sigh escaped his mouth. Whatever concerned-fueled sentiments that had driven him apparently left, leaving behind a meek and sheepish child that all so much fitted his age. Two sky-blue orbs then left the mundane spot on the earth and looked into the other's emerald own.

"I'm sorry, it was…extremely impolite of me to yell out of the blue like that" Tails mumbled awkwardly, still getting used to actually talking to another sentient being that actually cared to respond, aside from his mechanical pet T-pup next to him. "Now I feel like an idiot...a rude and embarrassed idiot…"

"It's no biggie, kiddo" Sonic said, letting out a humored chuckle as he reached out and ruffled the fox's hair, effectively messing it up. Even in his moment of glee, he did not miss the way Tails' eyes seemed to unconsciously close shut as well as the way his head so subtly leaned forward a few inches, as if to take in and relish the physical contact that for so long he had been unjustly deprived of to his heart's content. Also, Sonic could have sworn he had caught wind of a delighted purr, which had been greatly muffed and made barely audible by the winds of the Mystic Ruins.

His smile fell a little as he ran his hand back and forth, and at one time even stopped behind the triangular-shaped ear and gave Tails a good scratch, hitting a weak spot. The kid apparently enjoyed the act immensely judging from the spontaneous twitch of his lips and the content sighs that came out in stream with each movement of the hedgehog's fingers.

Sonic almost felt like a criminal to stop any time soon.

After a few seconds longer, however, Sonic retracted his hand. In the instant he could no longer feel the affectionate and comforting gesture, Tails' eyes sprang open and he shot the older a look that could only be described as a mixture between a heart-wrenching pleading and a pout. His innocent orbs were wide open, and so was his mouth but to a lesser extent. Tails looked like he was about to say something, but somehow managed to subdue his thoughts before they could be vocalized from the way he subsequently bit his tender lower lip, both hands promptly tucked behind his back and twin appendages hanging limply on the ground, lacking any and all of the former energy with which they had moved just a few minutes earlier. Tails, at that moment in Sonic's opinion, positively looked like someone – someone mean and evil in Sonic's mind - had unintentionally taken away something of great value to the younger fox.

That heartfelt expression thankfully did not last two full seconds, however, for it was instantly replaced by an extraordinarily wide and cheery smile – _'Too cheery…'_ Sonic thought inwardly and fought back a grimace as well as a sudden urge to reach out once more.

"Didn't mean to make you worried Tails," Sonic said as he kneeled down to his friend's eye level. "But I suppose it's great that there's finally someone around to reprimand me for being stupid, huh."

"Huh?" Tails sounded, head cocked to one side and ears erected in attention, "What do you mean?"

"Well" Sonic replied with a small smirk as he stood up and began to walk toward a small house a little distance away, "When you live life like me, not many can keep up or even bother at all," he added under his breath. Before Tails could ask him any further, however, Sonic whipped his entire body around and exclaimed excitedly, "So, Tails. Welcome to the Mystic Ruins, and by extension, my humble home. Hold on tight!"

Before the kid could open his mouth to form a reply, Sonic quickly grabbed his hand and forcibly dragged him toward the house with one hand, his other hand holding T-pup. "And by logical extension, yours as well from now on, buddy," Sonic added briefly before picking up the pace, eliciting a resounding yelp from his younger pal and a series of excited barks from the robot.

…

The trio reached Sonic's house only seconds later, much to the unwilling passenger's extreme delight.

"Never. Do. That. Again. Please!" he forced each word out, inserting a breathless pant in-between each syllable and placed one hand over his wildly thumping heart for emphasis. "I'm too young…to suffer from…heart attacks…"

"Oh come on, don't be such a drama queen, kiddo" Sonic replied good-naturedly and placed one hand on Tails' back. Whether or not he had felt the sudden startled jolt, he did not comment on it. "You managed to survive what? Let's see now. If memory serves me right…Oh yeah, a whole armada of birdbrains plus a marathon through deadly zones plus an army of badniks plus an aerial showdown and finally, a burning airplane hurling towards the earth. And you're saying you'll die from heart failure from a simple jog? Nuh-uh, I'm not buying it."

"I didn't say 'die'," Tails defended, "I said 'suffer from'. They are different. Besides, I wouldn't classify your speed as something equivalent to a jog. You see, a jog refers to the act of…"

"Yeah yeah yeah, alright Doctor Bright, let's get you inside first, shall we?" Sonic cut the child off with a smile and hurried him into the small house. "What about the Tornado?" Tails asked before the door was fully open.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Well, tell you what Tails, why don't you and Teensy Puppy here go in and sit down for a bit? I'll be right back in a jiffy after putting the Tornado and the Chaos Emeralds away, okay? Okay!" And with that, Sonic was gone in a gust of wind.

"Where does he get that much energy from?" Tails pondered as he was left alone with his pet and longest friend in front of the large wooden door, "You'd think he would get tired from running around and batting robots for days on end…" he added, eying his pet with an intrigued and also fond expression in his eyes.

His hand then instinctively moved to touch the spot on his head, where Sonic had given him such a comforting scratch behind the ear. The memory of the short-lived moment resurfaced, and with it came a shy blush on the child's innocent face. _'I can't believe I actually…purred…This is so embarrassing!'_ he thought with a frown. That expression soon faded, making way for a softer and fonder one, _'It was amazing, though…Nobody has ever done that for me before…And that pat, too…It was a bit rough but…nice I suppose…Unlike the ones…No, don't go there, Tails…'_

Tails continued to stand where he was and allowed his mind to wander, much to T-pup's bewilderment. His train of thoughts, however, soon came to an abrupt end when he felt a gloved hand on his shoulder.

"What are you doing out here?"

Instinctively, every fiber of his body seemed to gear into life and jerked backward, twin tails swiftly and automatically curling around his upper body in a protective fashion. His breath hitched and eyes widened in surprise until he laid eyes on the one who had snapped him from his latest self-induced trance.

"S…S-Sonic…" he muttered shakily, lips quivering slightly. The face that Sonic was showing was one of absolute awe, and daresay, pity if Tails had ever seen one in his short life. Once his composure had at last returned and awareness restored, Tails loosened his stiff posture and slowly let his namesakes fall back to touch the ground; his shoulders on the other hand, were still quaking slightly in the aftermath of a sudden jump scare that he had for countless times been a victim of in a not so distant past.

"You okay, kiddo?" asked the hedgehog tenderly, deliberating whether or not he should reach out. After all, Sonic had never done this before – taking care of someone who was so obviously scarred and traumatized more than he was willing to admit.

And a child no less.

Seeing the unresponsive and downcast fox cub in front of him, Sonic tried again, only this time his voice was lowered to merely a barely audible whisper, "Tails?"

That nickname finally caught the addressee's attention. The young cub carefully lifted his head up to regard his newly acquainted friend.

"I'm…I'm fine now" Tails said at last, "Sorry for my discourteous reaction. I don't know what came over me and…" he stopped himself from rambling the moment he felt his pet nudging his foot.

Sonic then decided to make a bold step forward, trying to see if Tails would react unfavorably to his advance. When the child said nothing in protest, the hedgehog continued to get closer in the same precarious manner until the gap was bridged, and he was right next to his younger friend.

"Come now, Tails. You have nothing to be sorry for" he started, voice gentle and soft. "It's okay. Tell you what, why don't we get inside, and I'll make you a nice steaming hot cup of coco, alright? I know some killer coco recipes from my travels. How does that sound?"

"…Okay…" came the timid reply, but that was all Sonic really needed at the moment. He was about to open the door and welcome his new buddy in, but a touch on his wrist made him halt and turn around, face scrunched up in pure curiosity. Behind him, Tails was shifting nervously from foot to foot, eyes wandering anywhere and everywhere but Sonic like he was having second thoughts about whatever he was trying to convey.

With a patient smile, Sonic lowered himself to Tails' level and gently placed one hand on his shoulder, prompting the younger to look at him. "What is it, Tails? You know you can ask me anything. And I mean it – anything."

Tails took a few more seconds to contemplate, before he redirected his gaze back onto Sonic. He began to fiddle with his fingers again, and Sonic was beginning to think that the fox himself was not aware that he was doing it at all.

He was not known for his patience. Oh no. Sonic was a creature of speed, of adventures and of thrills. He had neither need nor use for such a virtue, at least, he had not needed it until now. Thus, with great tolerance, Sonic willed himself to wait until the fidgety fox before him was ready to speak.

"…Can I…" Tails finally muttered after an indefinite amount of time had passed, much to Sonic's delight. With an encouraging gesture with his free hand, the hedgehog signaled for the child to go on, and he did just that.

"…Can I have some…mint candies, too?" Tails finished his thought aloud, instantly ducking his head and turning away from Sonic's gaze.

"I don't see why not" replied the relieved hedgehog with a snicker, glad that he had at least made some progress with his new brother in arms. _'Brother?'_ Sonic bemused, eyes widened momentarily as he contemplated the thought. A few seconds later, his pensive face was dropped, and in its place a warm and genuine smile took reign.

"Come on in," Sonic began as he stood up and moved towards the door while keeping one hand on Tails to guide him inside. "I'll make you a nice, wicked cup of hot coco and some mint candies. You can have as many as you want, how does that sound, little bro?"

At the sound of the endearing title, Tails temporarily stopped walking for a while and looked at Sonic with big, innocent eyes filled with indescribable awe, shock and, oh, was that joy he detected? Sonic himself could not be sure, for it was practically a whirlwind of sentiments inside those orbs, which were brilliant - like the miniature version of the vast sapphire sky itself. Sonic watched a bit more closely as the awe-struck expression on the kid's face slowly melted into an enormously heart-warming and radiant smile – One that Sonic felt he would regret for life if he did not at the very least return the sentiments.

"That sounds absolutely inviting, Sonic!" said Tails.

With a nod, the hedgehog resumed his pace and opened the door. Tails walked in and took a look around the humble abode, the interior of which was rather spacious due to the apparent lack of furniture aside from the mandatory necessities. However, it was cozy, warm and it gave him a sense of comfort and security, qualities that were in essence not too dissimilar to the owner himself. He stood still for another while longer and took in the sight before his very eyes. So this was his new dwelling, his new roof, his new shelter, his new house.

"So, what do you think?" Sonic asked, seeing the child-like wonder in his friend's eyes and chuckling softly. "I normally don't expect any company, so it's a little out of shape…"

"It's perfect!" Tails exclaimed, looking up to the hedgehog with adoration and happiness. Next to him, T-pup barked seemingly in agreement.

So this was his brand new house, and with Sonic…his brand new home.


	2. Settling In - Chapter 2

**Chapter Summary: Sonic's in for quite a shock when he discovers the nasty secrets concealed underneath the fox's secured gloves.**

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What lies beneath

True to his previous claim, Sonic could really make, as directly quoted from the hedgehog's unabridged words, "a nice, wicked cup of hot coco..." for Tails had never tasted anything more refreshing and nerve-soothing than what he had just consumed, and in all honesty, he truly felt much better and calmer than before.

"So, what's the verdict, captain?" asked Sonic as he tried to maintain his serious bartender persona behind the counter in the small kitchen area. Something in his voice signaled to Tails that he had in fact already figured out what the answer would most likely be, but he preferred to hear it directly from his first and quite possibly lifelong patron.

"This is seriously, undeniably, absolutely, utterly, decisively, breathtakingly and quite addictively amazing, Sonic!" Tails replied almost instantly with a satisfied smile plastered on his face. On the table, one of his hands reached out and grabbed another handful of the delectable mint candies Sonic had promised and gleefully popped them into his mouth in one go, much to the host's amusement.

"Glad you enjoyed my homemade SSSSLCC" said the hedgehog with pride, chest puffed up and head held high.

"Pardon me, the what?" asked Tails, face scrunched up in confusion at the strange name.

"SSSSLCC" Sonic repeated with a grin at the sight of the bewildered fox, "That stands for Sonic's Super Special Steaming Loco Choco Coco."

"…Catchy…and nice alliterations there, I guess."

"Why thank you, I've had practice."

"With poetry?" asked Tails incredulously.

"Nah, with naming stuff" Sonic replied with glee immediately, "Now that I think about it, I believe I singlehandedly named most of Buttnik's badniks before I even realized what they're called. Good times…Good times…"

"Ah-huh…And is there anything you haven't had practice with?" Tails asked teasingly, the tone that the playful bartending hedgehog did not fail to detect. Thus, with a grin, he happily answered.

"Swimming, or at least floating."

"Figures…"

"Well, excuse you" the hedgehog snorted, albeit with a large smirk on his face, happy that his foxy friend was in the mood for a meaningless banter. His smile was apparently contagious, for Tails was soon wearing one on his own face, whose proportion could easily rival or overshadow Sonic's. "But seriously, how was the drink?" asked the hedgehog as he assumed a mock serious façade.

"To be honest, it was the best thing I've ever tasted" replied the younger being.

"Best?" Sonic asked, humored.

"Well yeah" Tails answered with great confidence and finality. After all, he had not tasted anything other than fruits, mushrooms and wild berries for as long as he remembered, so something as simple as homemade coco was seen as a great treat – a delicacy in his mind even. However, he was not about to admit that out loud to make Sonic worry any more than he already had.

"As much as I'm flattered by the compliment, but are you sure this is the best, kiddo? Surely you must have had something better before."

At this, Tails fell silent in retrospect before another item quickly popped up in his mind. Without thinking, Tails leaned forward and said with great enthusiasm, his index finger outstretched to further emphasize his point, "Oh right, beside those chilly dogs back then…" Suddenly, his eyes widened in a moment of realization, utterly and outwardly horrified to silence by his own lack of courtesy toward his host for, in his naïve mindset, indirectly insulting the hedgehog's culinary skills.

Unintentional or not, it was still a mistake, and a mistake always meant punishment as a follow-up – thus was the way he had grown up and had accustomed himself with for years.

Once again, Tails cringed and instinctively retreated back into his timid shell. His head was lowered to avoid eye contact. Even his excited namesakes soon slowed to stillness and the constantly twitching ears were pinned onto his head, giving him the image of a child expecting to be scolded at any given time.

To his surprise, though, no such reprimand came; instead, only the sound of a boisterous laughter was elicited by the hedgehog on the other side of the makeshift wooden counter bar.

"Too true, little bro. And congrats on the fact that you've got good taste. Nothing quite beats the good old chilidogs…Now that you mention it, I think I'm running low on supply. Gotta get some more piled up now that we're going to be housemates, right?" Sonic chuckled heartily in reply as he retrieved the empty cup and merrily refilled it. His hearty laughter and chatty, upbeat attitude were able to make Tails relax to a certain extent, as evidenced by the fact that the fox child soon uncurled himself, albeit with practiced caution and wariness.

"Here you go, and have some more candies, too. No need to be shy. We're all family here." Sonic said, acting like he had been completely oblivious to the younger being's tension only seconds ago. Tails, however, was not easily fooled by such a transparent and awkward ruse.

His emerald eyes spoke volumes on their own without him saying anything at all, effective betraying the jovial mask of cheerfulness the hedgehog was so desperately trying to fix. Despite his realization, the young child opted to remain secretive and decided to play along. Thus, two slightly trembling hands quietly reached out to accept the proffered mug and a brief word of gratitude was exchanged.

Quietly gulping down the new mug of hot coco, Tails closed his eyes and relaxed his nerves a bit, allowing the hot liquid to run down his throat and at last land on his stomach. Letting out a content sigh, Tails placed the empty object back on the counter and picked up another handful of candies, chewing and swallowing them with rehearsed happiness.

Whether or not Sonic realized was beyond the fox, for the former was doing a very good job at concealing his thoughts behind that mysterious grin.

"…You really like mint candies, huh?" Sonic started, hoping to strike another conversation with his timid friend.

"…Yeah, I remembered eating them the first time I discovered them. After the first taste, I got hooked almost instantly," Tails replied with a happy beam. However, it was strained, and Sonic could clearly see it, but still chose not to press it, at least not at the moment. '_One problem at a time'_ he thought and forced his smiley façade to stay on.

"Yeah, I'll bet you did" the host chuckled again as he made his way for the cabinet in the further back to retrieve a bag of sweets. "You want some more? I've got plenty," he asked and turned his head around. At the invitation, Tails quickly crossed his arms in front of his chest and shook his head while offering his friend a polite and appreciative smile.

"Nah, I think I've had enough for one day. Good though it is, it's rather hard, if not downright impossible, to keep indulging it carelessly and not getting sick of it eventually."

"Okay then, your stomach, your call, capt." Sonic replied and put the bag away for later.

Tails got up and took the used mug with him to the sink nearby and rinsed it, despite Sonic's protests that he did not need to concern himself with such things as he was, at the moment, "a highly valued guest and soon-to-be brother in the house."

"The least I could do is help around" Tails had said decisively when pressed for the fifth time within the course of two minutes, and the dispute had been left at that.

"Alrighty," exclaimed Sonic once he had finished putting the leftovers away, "Now comes the second order of business. You, my friend, need a bath, and I'm going to give you one just in case you decide to whoosh in and whoosh out military style." he added, pointing at the kid, who instantly went stiff at the mention of the hygienic activity.

"B-B-Bath?" he babbled back, eyes one again widened and shimmering with weakly concealed terror and bottom lip trembling slightly. Sonic inwardly grimaced and admitted that the expression that now adorned his young friend's face was one that he never wished to see, ever again.

"D-D-Do you h-have to?" Tails continued to stammer, his words coming out a jumbled mess – a mixture of incoherent, shaky syllables and shaky breaths. Sonic, being much more perceptive than he was willing to admit, did not miss the way the small fox's fingers, which seemed to have grown a consciousness of their own without the owner's knowledge, instinctively grazed and traced the smooth surface of one of the dark-colored cuffs he normally had around his wrists to keep the gloves in place.

So there were more secrets yet to be shared, and Sonic was determined to at least flush this one out of Tails' system first and foremost. The kid really needed a bath for his own sake.

Repressing a sigh, the older creature cautiously moved forward a little, gauging the little one's reaction. Despite their relationship having grown beyond the point of ambivalence after their latest adventures together, during which Tails had always acted extremely jumpy and downright scared of getting on his older acquaintance's bad side, the fox child was still wary, deeply and irrationally afraid - terrified that any mistake he made would cost him his only organic friend, disregarding the triviality of that mistake if it could even be considered one in Sonic's opinion.

Like earlier, after he was certain that Tails would not enter another emotional roller coaster ride, Sonic got down to the child's level and spoke softly, voice warm and filled with absolutely no animosity, only genuine care and affection.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" he began, making no move to reach out and touch his friend, who was at the moment vehemently determined to avoid eye contact. "Tails, could you look at me?"

Slowly and hesitantly, two widened sky-blue eyes returned the gaze.

"That's a good boy" Sonic smiled as he continued, "Now, could you tell me what is it that you have against baths? I promise I won't ridicule you. I mean look at me, I'm not exactly the biggest fan of water around, either in case you forgot, but even I have to clean myself...occasionally…Not fun, I admit, but a must is a must, pal. Personal hygiene is important, kiddo. I wouldn't want you to contract some kind of illness on the first day you move here."

"…I have nothing against baths, actually…" a timid voice replied, coming from the fox. Though it was nothing more than a whisper, Sonic felt a warm burst of joy and hope, knowing that getting the kid to speak was a good start. Now to keep the talking going – that was the hard part.

"Okay then, good to know there's only one aquaphobic in the house, at least" Sonic replied, making Tails smile a little, "So now that's that possibility is out of the check list, what is the real problem, sport?"

Silence took reign as the kid averted his eyes once more.

"I promise, Tails," said the hedgehog, voice tender still and body language expressing nothing but great patience with the little one, "I will not judge you," he added and momentarily studied the two dark cuffs securing the fox's gloves in place, eyeing them intently for a brief second and tearing his gaze away before he was noticed.

"Tails…" he prompted again, but still making no move to initiate physical contact with the scared and slightly shivering child. "Listen, little buddy. You're not on your own anymore. So you don't have to cram everything up, shove them in an iron box, weld it shut and hold onto it any longer. It's going to get really heavy sooner or later, and sooner or later, you'll get crushed under all that weight. Please, let me help."

Still nothing, only the nervous shifty scratches of the fingers against the smooth cuff and the rapid movements of the sapphire eyes told Sonic that the kid was indeed listening, but still having a hard time accepting that someone wanted to know his flaws, a hard time allowing someone access to his ugly little secrets inside that sealed iron box within his heart.

Therefore, he chose silence to gather his thoughts.

"…Tails…" Sonic started after a moment of suffocating and nerve-wrecking silence, ready to resign himself to the fact that he would not be able to make any more progress with this, "Okay, okay…If you truly don't want to talk about it, then I suppose it's not my place to…"

"My hands…" said the sheepish voice of an equally sheepish fox, surprising Sonic. However, he said nothing, and instead gestured for Tails to go on. "…I don't want anyone to see…my…hands."

'_That's a good start'_ Sonic thought inwardly, expression softened slightly, "And is there any particular reason why?" he asked, nervous and if he dared to admit, scared what he would find underneath those battered and worn gloves.

Outwardly, however, his expression remained unchanged. At the sight of his friends' discomfort, he hastily added, "But like I said, it's okay if you don't want to say anything until you want to, and if it's too personal, I'll respect it and won't dive any further."

Tails assumed a pensive look for a brief while, eyes moving between the cuffs and the hedgehog in a frantic fashion. He would continue doing this for another short while before he finally made up his mind.

After a soft click, one cuff snapped open, sliding off its intended position and falling onto to the floor. Wordlessly, Tails then proceeded to take off the familiar white, damaged fabric covering his right hand.

"Maybe it'll be much faster if I just show you" he muttered, head hung low and eyes downcast, fearing the consequences of his bold decision.

Tails then raised his bare hand towards his friend, who gently reached out his own and cradled the smaller limb with tender care. The moment the child's unprotected palm came into view, Sonic had to bite back a shocked gasp to avoid hurting the kid's already fragile feelings.

On the surface of the soft and sensitive skin of the child's palm, countless age-old burn marks, cuts, scars, calluses and various injuries were present, dancing across the fox's palm and fingers in a complete random order. It was an indescribably horrifying, in Sonic's mind, absolutely and utterly horrifying sight to behold – a sight that should never be, in any circumstances, associated with a sweet and innocent child at an age where the hardest dilemma of the generation should be which sweets to eat after a meal.

Taking Sonic's prolonged silence as a sign of disgust and disdain, Tails, with a hurt and regretful expression, swiftly curled his fingers to hide the hideous reminders of his lonely past life. Before he could fully close his fist, however, he felt Sonic's fingers against his own, carefully and gently prying each and every single one them open once more.

"Sonic?" asked the fox, bewildered by the older hedgehog's action. _'Shouldn't he be disgusted? Like the others?_' he added mentally as fragmented memories of ridicules began to resurface.

Sonic, in the meantime, completely focused all of his attention on the numerous scars and marks on his younger friend's hand, meticulously taking in each and every single one of those gross wounds and committing them to memory.

"…Do they hurt?" he asked suddenly and raised his head to look at his little buddy, surprising the addressee as a result. Still stunned that Sonic had instead asked after his health rather than made a comment about the ugly nature of his injuries or a question about their origins, Tails simply shook his head in reply, mouth slightly agape.

"Good…That's good…" Sonic added after studying the open palm still cradled in his own for a while longer, "Can I touch them?"

"Excuse me?" Tails asked, shocked.

"Do you mind if I touch them?" Sonic repeated, voice gentler than ever. After another session of pregnant silence had come to pass, Tails numbly nodded again. Wordlessly, Sonic proceeded, carefully tracing his fingers across the damaged skin to make sure that he would not accidentally jostle any injuries and hurt his friend.

Tails, at that moment, could only stand still, watching Sonic with analytical eyes as if the hedgehog was a new and foreign scientific problem which even his genius brain could not fully process. As the seconds quietly ticked away, the two friends continued to remain where they were; neither said anything, until at last a soft voice shattered the thick veil of serenity.

"I'm sorry" whispered Sonic as he placed his palm on top of Tails', finally hiding the abused skin from view. Tails, at that moment, was no more shocked than he was confused at the off-handed yet heartfelt apology. Before he could ask to hedgehog to clarify, he was cut off, "I wasn't there."

"Sonic" said the fox after a brief moment of contemplation to allow those words to sink in and decipher them. "You couldn't have known," he continued with a bashful voice.

"I know, but…" he let out a defeated sigh and moved to retrieve the discarded fabric from the cub's other hand. Unable to say anything else, he silently put the glove back to its intended position. A hand fell on his shoulder, prompting him to raise his head and lock eyes with Tails again.

"You couldn't have known" he spoke softly, a ghost of a smile present on his childish face.

"I know."

"I sure hope so."

In one motion too quick for the naked eye to see, Sonic leaned in closer and wrapped both arms around the fox's shoulders, pulling him into a warm and protective embrace as if in an attempt to try and shield him from the cruel, merciless world outside.

"I mean it, Tails. Let me carry some of that weight for you, too" Sonic whispered into Tails' ear. For a brief second, Tails' eyes went as wide as could be before he closed them shut and allowed his whole being to melt into the hug, quietly relishing the warmth and the sense of security those hands provided.

"Thank you, Sonic…" he whispered back and returned the gesture.

"Well, what are friends for if not a listening pair of ears at the very least?" Sonic chuckled as he replied, lifting the mood somewhat. He held his first friend for a while longer before breaking the hug to come face to face with a smiling Tails, whose mood seemed to have improved exponentially. Sonic, with a satisfied grin, ruffled the kid's head and spoke.

"Alright, now that's also out of the check list, come on sport, let's give you a bath before you invite fleas into my home."

"I'm not that dirty" Tails replied defensively as he jerked backward with a pout on, but the humor in his voice was not lost. "Can we, maybe, I don't know, skip it? Please!" he added with a sweet smile to sweeten the pot – one that allowed his sparkly teeth to show off their splendor to the fullest to the beholder - much to Sonic's amusement.

"Sorry, kiddo, our home, but my rule, since I'm clearly the older around here. But I suppose I can offer you a compromise. Now hurry up and go into the bathroom before my patience takes a vacation on me and I decide to dunk you into the tub myself."

No more encouragement was needed as Tails quickly raced toward the bathroom on the second floor and disappeared into the right corner.

"Try the other way, Tails" Sonic yelled after the kid, who quickly appeared and disappeared again in a blurry flash of yellow on the opposite direction.

Satisfied when he heard the sound of the bathroom's door getting closed and locked, Sonic went back to the counter and sat down. It had been exhausting, and the sun was beginning to set already. He needed to worry about dinner next, and the only viable option available at the time was spaghetti.

Listening to the sound of running water from upstairs, Sonic unconsciously drifted his gaze toward the direction of the bathroom and sighed again. The images of those nasty scars and burns appeared again in perfect clarity – so perfectly clear that he had t close his eyes to shake them away.

"What else do you have hidden from the world, kid?" he mumbled to himself, chin rested upon the palm of his hand pensively.

Somehow, in his mind and with his greatest of imagination, he could picture a younger Tails living alone in the wilderness, tinkering away with the various objects he found just to ease some of his dreadful loneliness. Then came the images of the same kid making some mechanical friends to keep him company when sadness grew too much…

Of course, Sonic knew how the kid must have gotten that many injuries. His eyes trailed back to the unusually quiet robotic pet a little distance away, who was carefully watching him with his large eyes filled with unconcealed curiosity.

"…It's true what they say – Practice makes perfect…" Sonic muttered to himself before getting dinner started. _'Time, on the other hand…'_ he thought as he placed put the kettle on the heater, watching the flames mercilessly sear the already charred bottom of the metal pot.


	3. Settling In - Chapter 3

**Another day, another chapter gets written up, edited and posted. **

**Chapter Summary: Sonic discovers a secret talent that Tails has, and there's a pleasant surprise for both of them afterward.**

_"The sky and the strong wind have moved the spirit inside me till I am carried away trembling with joy."__  
\- Uvavnuk_

* * *

The Prayer of the Wind and the Sky

The sun was already high up in the clear sky when Tails was finished cleaning the living room, despite Sonic's constant protests that he need not have exerted himself with anything and that he should be chilling out like a child he was. If there was one among the more dominant traits that defined the fox, it would be stubbornness – one that was also shared by a certain speed demon of blue.

Speaking of Sonic, the hedgehog was currently somewhere in Station Square on a grocery run for some necessary supplies around the house – mainly for Tails, of course, and lots of chilidogs. Even though he had insisted countless times that Tails should join him, the latter had, quite understandably, fervently objected to the idea of being seen in public so soon.

"I'm not ready yet. What if they don't like me?" Tails had uttered in a frantic manner, hands trembling and body shivering as if he had been standing in the middle of a blizzard with nothing on his being to shield against the bitter cold. And Sonic had at last given in to Tails' pleas and respected his decision, albeit with some reluctance and a hint of sadness in his soft tone.

Therefore, inside the small house atop the barren hilltop, only Tails and his pet were present, and both of them had been doing their best to make sure the entire place was scrubbed until it sparkled for quite a while – approximately one and a half hour according to the fox.

"Alright…" Tails exclaimed joyously and reasonably proudly as he stood up and stretched, feeling the indescribably great feeling of tired bones and muscles drawing out and relaxing after a good labor. "Spotless!" he added with a smile. Beside him, a hovering T-pup, whose feet were individually equipped with various cleaning tools, let out a bark in agreement.

"You did well, too, T-pup" Tails commented and gave his robotic partner an affectionate pat on the head. "Now that we're done, I suppose the only thing left to do is to wait until Sonic returns from town."

He grew silent for a while, mind thinking back at the hedgehog's reassurances that the people in Station Square would not hurt him, and contemplated on whether or not he should accept the invitation next time the occasion arose. The idea was then abruptly dropped with a shake of his head.

Turning to look at his robot, Tails offered T-pup a small half smile when he noticed the worried expression on the little creature's face. "I'm okay, just a bit tired from all the cleaning, that's all," he lied. "How about we go outside for a while for a change of air?"

Hearing the instant reply, Tails chuckled and reached out to pull his smaller creation in before heading outside.

The moment the fox was out in the open, he was immediately greeted by a rush of comfortably cool breezes and surrounded by the warm rays of sunlight from above. Coupled with the pure, undefiled air of the Mystic Ruins, Tails quickly felt the tiredness get sapped out of every fiber of his body and deflated, allowing himself to melt into the subtle kisses of the whimsical winds as well as the invisible embraces of the sunrays.

"This feels amazing!" the fox muttered as he got closer to the cliff while greedily taking in long sniffs of the uncontaminated air. He could also detect the faint scents of some wild flowers carried by the playful gusts from the forest nearby. "I can definitely get used to this" he continued with his monologue, smiling contently as he briefly closed his eyes and resigned himself to the mystifying lulls of Mother Nature.

A sudden woof next to his location caught his attention, and he saw T-pup running towards him from the small area next to the house where some vegetation grew, a leaf tightly held in his mouth. Letting out another amused chuckle, he gently retrieved the green object from the robot's hold and held it tenderly in his hands.

"Heh heh, it's been a while, hasn't it?" he asked, his voice conveying a sense of nostalgia and mostly to himself, as he carefully eyed the leaf. "You want me to play something?" he asked T-pup and quickly received an affirmative yip.

"...Okay then, to my most dedicated fan…" said Tails briefly before he picked up his friend and located a shade. Once again, he felt the rustles of the wind against his hair and marveled at the exquisite shadow patterns cast upon the earth by the tiny rays of light that managed to bypass the leafy defenses of the great oak tree under which he was currently seated.

With his eyes closed, Tails placed the leaf he held against his lips and began to blow on it, producing a series of soothing and varied sounds that almost perfectly harmonized with the serene rhythm of the breezes in the air.

In the midst of the raw, untouched beauty of the scenic one-man stage and the bout of inspiration provided by nature itself, Tails conducted his solo on his leaf flute, his flow completely unrestrained and unhindered by the lack of a corporeal music sheet. Eventually, as time quietly idled by, he began to immerse and tune in with the noises of the wind, letting his mind go empty until no foreign thoughts remained aside from the notes he was to produce.

Each note came out beautifully and naturally with each controlled breath that escaped his lips, resounding and echoing within the empty and desolated environment. The sounds he made were all so tenderly sweet, to the point of silencing even the proudest and most artistic of birds dwelling within the nearby forest, and each free-flowing note demanding to be succeeded, to be complimented and to be completed by the ones to follow.

At times, the notes would soar, reaching toward the highest of the heavens above, and others, they would occasionally drop to the level of barely audible snatches, somehow mimicking and replicating the gentle, soft whispers of the intangible gusts that were joyously dancing around the lone player himself, quietly accompanying him in his enchanting performance.

In that one magical moment, everything tangible around Tails seemed to slowly fade away into nothingness, replaced by a world where only the wind and the sky existed. Within that world, only Tails and his pet remained afloat, drifting through the endless space toward an unknown destination.

Completely detached from the outside world, Tails continued to pour every piece of his soul into his untitled song, eyes tightly shut.

After a relatively long time had passed, the performance was no longer the intended solo. He suddenly heard another sound enter his domain, uninvited yet somehow rightfully belonged. The fox felt like someone was joining him, happily and merrily whistling to his music to further perfect the liberal and harmonious melody of the wind and the sky.

With newfound vigor and inspiration, the flutist picked up the tempo, his notes ascending and descending in quick and rapid succession. The verse at that moment in time was not dissimilar to a powerful whirlwind, introduced in all of its stages from the moment it began to form until the moment it reached its strongest and finally desisted, returning to its original gentle and harmless whiffs that traversed the lands still.

Another indefinite amount of time had passed and the song entered a refrain before it slowed to a complete stop, effectively shattering the lonesome illusionary realm created by the seemingly random combination of sounds and returning tranquility back to the real one.

Lowering the instrument down, Tails sighed somewhat sadly, as if regretting that the song had at last reached its end, and expected to be greeted by the empty silence that had for so long haunted him. However, to his utter surprise, he heard the faint clapping of hands nearby. In an instant, two sky –blue eyes shot open and spotted another audience, who opted not to announce his presence so as not to disturb the young artist in his private period of unrestrained genius.

The clapping soon stopped, and was replaced by a familiar voice.

"That was beautiful, Tails" said Sonic excitedly as he approached the stunned addressed and sat down next to him, a proud smile present on his face. "I didn't know you played the leaf flute."

"How long have you been there?" the fox asked, having at last bypassed the initial shock but not the growing embarrassment.

"After I got back and brought the groceries in," Sonic replied, "And then I heard this delightful sound coming from outside and went out to investigate. What I found, well, I don't think 'amazing' quite does what you did justice, bud. Why didn't you tell me you could play the leaf flute?"

"Well" the fox replied, face flushed and abashed, "I didn't want to brag. Besides, it's not exactly playing – at least not in the professional sense. It's more like, uh, free flowing, I suppose…" he answered, looking away and scratching his head awkwardly.

"Still, it was incredible, kiddo" Sonic quickly said, "I must say I'm impressed, you never cease to amaze me. First you're a flyer, then you're a pilot, then you're an inventor and a mechanic, and now you're a what, virtuoso? That's neat! All that in one adorable fuzzy little package."

"…I've had practice," Tails said, trying in vain to hide the blush on his cheeks and remembering the hedgehog's words from the day before. "And lots of free time…" he muttered under his breath, but Sonic was still able to hear it.

At the sound of those vainly hidden whispers, Sonic's smile faltered for a brief moment before getting wider again. Throwing one arm around the smaller creature's shoulders, he pulled Tails into a casual side hug. Needles to say, Tails was surprised by the unexpected physical contact, but found himself enjoying it nevertheless.

"You looked like you really enjoyed yourself back then, Tails."

"Oh?"

"Really! You looked very peaceful and calm playing with that leaf" Sonic continued, smile radiant still.

"...It's a good distraction, I suppose" said the fox in reply, cheeks getting hotter due to the foreign compliments.

"So, what's the song called anyway? I don't think I've heard it before, and coming from a seasoned traveler like me, that means something."

"It's actually a piece I composed when I was messing around. I sometimes play it just for fun when there's nothing else to do" Tails began, fiddling with the leaf in his hands, "I never even thought about naming it, however."

"That won't do" Sonic said, tapping his chin pensively, "Every great thing deserves a good name and some form of recognition…Let's see…What to call your masterpiece…"

"Really, Sonic, it's fine, and I wouldn't call it a master..." Tails began, but an excited yell from the older creature silenced him almost immediately.

"Oh I know," Sonic exclaimed, looking at the fox directly in the eyes, "How about 空と風の祈り (Sora to Kaze no Inori)?"

"The Prayer of the Wind and the Sky?" asked Tails with a dumbfounded expression.

"Told you I'm good at naming stuff" Sonic said with a proud smirk, inwardly congratulating himself on the new name. Tails, on the other, looked a bit skeptical, but chose to say nothing and allowed his friend to act at his own device. "...Alright then, if you insist."

"And thus a new song is christened" the hedgehog spoke with a certain amount of enthusiasm, successfully making the corner of the cub's lips twitch upward a little bit in amusement, "But seriously, you play this every time you get bored?"

"Well yeah, I guess. Normally when I'm done assembling stuff. Why? Is there something wrong with it?" Tails questioned curiously, head slightly tilted.

"No, of course not. It only makes you all the more amazing spending your free time like that."

"Oh? What do you normally do in your free time then?"

"Nothing much, just running through new places and enjoying different scenes and countries and trying out new food and all that jazz," Sonic answered as he put both hands behind his head and pressed his back against the soft grass underneath the ancient oak tree. "Running helps me calm my nerves. Don'y exactly know why, but I guess it's in my blood or something."

"That sounds like a great pastime," Tails commented, and in a more subdued tone, he continued, "But isn't it a bit exhausting sometimes, you know, to always be on the move like that?"

"...I guess it does get a bit tiresome every once in a blue moon, but I've never really had a reason to stand still in one place for too long. My feet get itchy if I don't get enough of my daily dosage of vitamin D," the hedgehog shrugged and looked at the bewildered child sitting beside him, both knees drawn into his chest and arms around them defensively.

"D?" Tails asked, confused, and Sonic replied with a smile and a simple utterance "Dash," Tails nodded his head in understanding and lied down next to his friend, T-pup now contently entering sleep mode on his stomach. The two buddies stayed still for a while, listening to the soothing sounds of the leaves getting rustled by the occasional breezes and allowing both their minds and bodies to blend in with the tranquility.

Suddenly, Sonic let out an audible sigh and spoke in a hushed voice.

"You know what" he began, capturing the cub's attention, "I've never really had a reason to stay in one place for too long, but now, I suppose staying still like this every once in a while sounds pretty alluring to me."

With that, he turned to his side and threw an arm around Tails, pulling him into a warm hug. When he was comfortable enough, the hedgehog closed his eyes and steadied his breathing, instantly falling into a peaceful midday nap with a cuddly bundle of fur against his body.

Despite the initial surprise, Tails soon found himself relaxing once again to the sound of his friend's steady heartbeat as well as the lullaby of nature around them. Soon enough, he too resigned himself to the irresistible call of a blissful slumber underneath the shade, a content smile gracing his lips.

* * *

**Note: That's all for now. I sure hope I did an adequate job describing the moods of the song (unreal by the way, so don't bother googling it), but as usual, I'll let you be the critics. Also, I would like to thank the readers who have spent a bit of their precious time visiting this series of drabbles. If anyone has any special request, don't hesitate to tell me, and I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, ciao.**


	4. Settling In - Chapter 4

**Yay, another chapter is finished, I'm on a roll for days now. **

**Chapter summary: Sonic's musings regarding his new life.**

* * *

Guard Down

On one fine day, Tails was sitting at the couch inside the newly furnished and clean living room, reading a book approximately twice his height with T-pup curling next to him. Suddenly, he heard the front door creak open and put the object down, directing his eyes at Sonic, who had just returned from his morning jog – or at least that was a jog defined in Sonic's personal dictionary.

"Welcome back!" said Tails happily at the sight of his friend with a tiny upward twitch at the corners of his mouth. "How was your exercise?"

"Meh, per usual, you know" Sonic replied with a nonchalant shrug, "Running through cities, enjoying the nice views, chilling out under a shade somewhere for a while and drinking some coconut milk, helping senior citizens cross the street, humiliating some wannabe daredevils and self-proclaimed street racers along the way, stopping a few attempts at grand theft auto, helping the police capture a bunch of runaway bank robbers in another zone, single-handedly solving a hostage situation half an hour later in another zone, etcetera etcetera. On the way back, I stopped by a street vendor and got me some nice chilidogs. Oh, almost forgot, here's your share, buddy. Think fast!"

The hedgehog then tossed a bag containing the delectable treat to Tails, who easily caught it. "Thanks," he said before taking one out and getting down to devouring it with glee. In two bites, the food was gone, and Tails returned to his original activity – reading.

"So what're you doing over there, sport?" asked Sonic as he sat down next to his best friend, whose eyes were now completely fixated on the gigantic encyclopedic volume he was holding.

"Reading," Tails responded, eyes still rummaging through the multiple paragraphs at an extraordinary pace.

"I can see that," Sonic chuckled, "What I mean to ask is what are you reading?"

"A book" said Tails instantly without thinking, much to the older creature's growing amusement. '_So it begins. Looks like someone's in a good mood today'_ he thought with a smirk.

"On what?" he went on, leaning back against the comfortable couch with both hands behind his head.

"On my lap," the fox answered, once again not missing a single beat.

"Well, someone's on a roll with the sarcastic replies today," Sonic remarked with a mocking huff, humored by his best friend's rarely displayed childish antics.

It had been a week and a half since the first day Tails moved in with him to the Mystic Ruins, and with every single day that had come and passed, Sonic was able to coax his surrogate brother to speak more and joke around more often. And from the way Tails had been behaving for the last few days, Sonic was proud to say that he had done a fairly good job at easing some of the tension that was normally exhibited in his friend's mannerisms and speeches.

Also, Tails had somewhat gotten used to his best friend's reckless tendencies already, and thus, he would not constantly hover around Sonic to make a fuss about his well-being every single time the latter admitted to doing something dangerous when he was not around. Tails still tended to do that at times, but not as often and as vehemently as the first day when the hedgehog had decided to go bungee jumping without a rope from the Tornado's wing.

In short, Tails was, in Sonic's opinion, much more hassle-free and at ease compared to his former shy self around the hedgehog, and the two sometimes even exchanged playful banters and talked about trivial and meaningless topics that suddenly popped into their minds without prompting.

Today was one of those days, so it would seem.

"Actually, I'm just sitting here and reading peacefully, not moving an inch over my own axis," Tails casually replied, voice even as if he was merely discussing the weather and his eyes still glued to the constantly flipped pages. Despite his indifferent façade, a grin could be clearly seen from where Sonic was lounging.

"Okay, okay, captain, I yield," said Sonic humorously, playfully holding up both hands in the air in surrender. "You can turn off the sarcasm switch already." He continued, and Tails, in response, clicked his tongue to mimic the sound of a switch getting flipped. The hedgehog found himself grinning once again at the act.

"Seriously, what is that book about, Tails? It looks massive."

"Oh nothing much, just an overview of quantum mechanics and related subjects and all, you know, elementary stuff" replied the genius child as he casually flipped another page, his voice a perfect impression of Sonic's own when the speedster recounted his morning jog.

"…Okay…" Sonic found himself muttering, eyes widened briefly.

Even though he had known his little buddy to be a prodigy with the biggest brain around, Sonic would still often find himself completely amazed by the child's mind and how lucky it was that he had been able to come across such an incredible and unique individual. "Then I'll leave you to it, then."

After that, Sonic then stood up and headed to the kitchen to retrieve something to drink. When he turned around, he had to try his hardest to bite back the oncoming snickers bubbling at his throat at the new perspective of Tails reading on the couch.

From his current point of view, it certainly looked like the large book itself had a pair of disproportionately tiny legs poking out from the bottom and two equally miniscule arms protruding from the sides. _'Well, now that's something you don't see every day – a walking encyclopedia,'_ he mused and chuckled at the inside joke in private before gulping down the rest of his refreshment.

Once done, Sonic put the glass away and took another closer look around the newly refurbished house, which now seemed both foreign and familiar to him at the same time. It looked completely different from the lonely and desolated shelter that he had been accustomed to for many years, and somehow, the place felt much smaller and more welcoming than the image in his mind.

In the past, Sonic had had absolutely no particular reason to come back to the Mystic Ruins other than to let the Tornado rest in-between his whimsical adventures. Now, however, he felt drawn, compelled to come back, and most of the times, he almost could not wait to return to the same place where he had once felt unbearably suffocated surrounded by those worn down walls and ancient, out-of-date furniture not so long ago.

'_And I think I know exactly why,'_ his thought continued as a fond smile began to form on his lips, soft emerald eyes looking directly at the spot where Tails was currently seated still.

He then unknowingly closed his eyes for a brief moment to enjoy the constant and rhythmic sounds of the studious fox's hand flipping the pages every few seconds.

'_Never thought I of all people would actually enjoy the idea of standing still'_ he mused and let his mind wander once again, thinking about how much his house had transformed and how comfortable and calming it felt when Tails' presence was near.

The silent hedgehog's eyes remained tightly shut as his mind continued to be filled with various happy thoughts about how his new best friend had changed him within the short time they had known one another – both during their last struggles against Dr Robotnik and during the short time spent together in this fleeting moment of peace.

Sonic inwardly admitted that it felt truly nice to be alive in the present, and his life was now more complete with the new welcoming addition.

It was then that another thought - one that was contrastively darker - decided to enter his mind, forcing both eyes open in an instant, _'But what about Tails?_' a voice spoke inside his head, _'Doesn't he feel lonely when you go out to run? Doesn't he feel forlorn when you have to make grocery runs in town and leave him behind because he's still too afraid of how others will react to his appearance? Does it remind him of his time alone, when he had nobody to turn to, every time you walk through that door?'_ the negative train of thoughts continued, and Sonic's face began to morph into a pensive frown.

Thus, the problem resurfaced once more, one of the biggest and most prominent in Sonic's opinion.

Even though Tails was now able to carry out normal conversations without quivering and, in some rare cases, even actively make snarky comments when the opportunity arose, everything the cub did was limited to Sonic and his mechanical pet, T-pup.

Every time Sonic invited Tails to join him in his trips to town, Tails would, despite constant reassurances and pleas on Sonic's part, assume a haunted expression on reflex and instantly decline the offer with a polite yet sad smile.

It made Sonic's heart drop that a child of such talents and curiosity was forced to stay hidden, locked away and cut off from the grand and wondrous world beyond that wooden door simply because of how he had been unjustly mistreated in throughout his miserable childhood.

'_Oh Tails…'_ Sonic's thoughts went on and he shot a sympathetic gaze at the child behind the large upright paperback on the couch.

He would stay silent for the next couple of minutes, lost in more conflicting thoughts about Tails, until he was abruptly snapped out of his trance by the noticeable lack of the strangely therapeutic flipping of pages and the unexpected emergence of soft snores from the cub's direction.

Curious, Sonic quietly approached Tails and poked his head behind the thick cover. The moment he spotted the kid, he could not help but fondly chuckle once more, careful to render his voice inaudible. At the moment, Tails, still stubbornly holding onto the sides of the book, was fast asleep, soliciting soft snoring sounds and, occasionally, random and incoherent mumblings about his thoughts regarding the quantum theory he had just learnt.

"Now that's what I call adorable…" Sonic spoke under his breath, sharing a smile with T-pup nearby.

After successfully prying the cub's already loosened fingers from their grip on the massive object, Sonic closed the book and put it away. He then, carefully and smoothly, guided the fox's jelly-like body into a more comfortable position on the soft piece of furniture.

'_Well, at the very least, I know for sure Tails feels at ease and at home enough to fall asleep around me,' _Sonic thought with great pleasure apparent on his face, one hand softly running through the sleeping child's head and seeing him unconsciously lean forward into the touch.

While it was true that Tails' deep-rooted fear of being seen and ridiculed in public was a problem that would need to be addressed sooner rather than later, Sonic was, for now, satisfied and delighted to learn that at the very least, Tails would willingly let his guard down within the confine of his new home.

And that, in its own right, was already a small victory worth celebrating in the hedgehog's book.


	5. Settling In - Chapter 5

**Seeing that I haven't written a fight scene for quite some time, I'm starting to miss it. Therefore, I've decided to write a chapter filled with some actions, but still stick to the main plot governing this whole series. This is the final result. I hope you will enjoy it. :)**

**Chapter Summary: Sonic and Tails have a friendly fight. Enough said.**

* * *

Battle of the Bros

It was almost noon when Sonic and Tails were standing in the open barren space outside their humble abode, both of whom were currently eyeing one another with a wary gaze.

And the unusual thing was that they were presently assuming their respective fighting stances, looking grimly serious and absolutely focused. Everything about the two as well as the clear tension in the air all pointed toward the fact that a confrontation was due to take place any time soon.

"Get ready, Tails!" said Sonic with a tone that was worldly different from his normally light-hearted and cheery one, "I'm not exactly good at holding back, so watch out!"

"Same to you, Sonic!" the fox spoke back, his voice also carrying an underlying threat and his eyes wholly focused on the lone blue target before them.

Both the hedgehog and the fox looked tensed.

At a safe distance bit further away, T-pup was sitting on the ground, constantly looking between the two brothers with analytical eyes, carefully taking in and recording every move they made to the most subtle of gestures.

The reign of silence continued to stretch on for a while longer before it was at last shattered by the simultaneous chorus coming from the two opposing parties, "BEGIN!" both Sonic and Tails shouted and subsequently leaped forward at the same time.

And thus, the battle began.

"Pay attention, kiddo, for I'm about to show you how a pro kicks things off with a bang!" Sonic exclaimed smugly before he extended one leg and swung it as hard as he could in a crescent motion, aiming for his smaller opponent's upper body.

"We'll see…" Tails muttered with a hidden mischievous grin on his face, unfazed by the hedgehog's strike.

With movements both swift and smooth, he then lowered his body and, cleverly taking advantage of the momentum he had managed to build up, slid along the ground to evade the incoming kick. As a result, Sonic's leg was met with thin air.

Not stopping there just yet, Tails, while still in motion, quickly wrapped one of his nimble namesakes around the ankle of Sonic's stationary leg the exact moment when he slid past the hedgehog. The well-timed maneuver pulled the targeted limb from its position and consequently caused the older combatant to lose his balance and fall forward, his face heading directly toward the hard soil below.

Unfortunately, things did not go according to the young genius' original intention, for Sonic, widely known for his speed and impeccable reflexes, easily broke his fall with his hands. Utilizing the momentum he currently had, Sonic then expertly performed a forward roll, which both enabled him to remain standing afterwards and also allowed him to distance himself from his opponent.

"Neat trick, kiddo! Not too shabby, I must say," Sonic remarked, somewhat impressed that the cub's clever evasive tactic. "But" he added somewhat condescendingly and with a sly smirk, index finger moving waggling a patronizing fashion, "You have to try harder than that to take down the Sonic the hedgehog."

"Well, the duel's still young, so we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?" Tails replied with confidence and his voice also conveyed an unspoken challenge, much to the hedgehog's delight and excitement. "Confident, aren't we? Okay then, I guess we will see sooner than later," said the blue blur briefly before he sped up and dashed forward once again, this time relying on his speed for offense.

Having already experienced the legendary alacrity that best defined the azure adventurer firsthand, Tails knew full well how much damage Sonic was capable of dishing out with his insane accelerations, so in response, he instantly moved out of the path to avoid a nasty collision with the incoming projectile. He barely made it, missing Sonic by a second.

The fox hastily regained his footing. He then picked up the pace and began to run around the battle arena. At the same time, he secretly collected handfuls of the numerous pebbles lying around the barren space and stored them inside his twin bushy appendages.

Sonic made another mad dash toward the fox, and this time he successfully managed to get close enough to land some hits. Tails suddenly found himself getting bombarded with a plethora of swift punches and kicks from all directions, but thanks to his well-trained reflexes and well-developed survival instincts, he was able to parry most of the strikes, thus keeping the damage to his person to a bare minimum.

After a while, Tails spotted an opening and instantly used it to his advantage.

The moment Sonic threw his next punch, the fox quickly bent down to evade it. He then simultaneously wrapped both of his namesakes around the hedgehog's outstretched arm and forward leg. Before Sonic could react, Tails then spun his nimble appendages, and as a result, the former was thrown away by the spontaneous slam-like maneuver.

Like before, however, the hedgehog easily landed on his feet without harm, and even shot the younger fighter a smug look, much to Tails' annoyance.

'_Time for a little change of tactic'_ Tails thought while keeping a constant eye on his target, _'Sonic is definitely much faster than I am and has complete control when he's on the ground, but in the air, I have the definite advantage – both in offense and defense.'_

Twin tails immediately wrapped themselves around one other and began to swirl.

"Taking off, huh? Not gonna happen, kid," Sonic yelled the moment the familiar spinning sound entered his eardrums. He then slowed his body to a complete stop. Swiftly turning around and curling up into a tight, spinning spiked ball, the hedgehog unleashed his signature attack – the notorious Spin Dash – in hope of getting to his opponent before the fox could lift off.

Sonic was closing in on Tails at an impressive pace, and much to the latter's horror, he was still seconds away from reaching the speed required to take to the sky.

The next few seconds was absolutely nerve-wrecking for the young genius as he continued to quicken the preparatory process for his flight while keeping an eye on the fast approaching spinning blue ball of menace.

Before the Spin Dash could land a direct hit on the fox's stomach, however, he had managed to generate sufficient force, and both of his feet were finally lifted off the ground. '_Yes_!' Tails celebrated inwardly with a gleeful smile and a sigh of relief.

Not wasting what precious little time he had left before the impact occurred, the younger fighter promptly propelled himself heavenward. Thanks to his impeccable timing, Tails was able to escape while sustaining no damage to his being other than a large tear on the underside of his shoe. _'That was cutting it too close…No pun intended…Man, Sonic must be rubbing off on me more than I thought,' _he mused with a shake of his head to rid his mind of the irrelevant thoughts.

Now, Tails had accomplished what he had first intended. To his delight, he now had complete visual of the battlefield below and, of course, Sonic as well.

"Oh come on, now that's cheating, Tails!" Sonic shouted in mock exasperation, hands swinging wildly and comically in all directions to emphasize his supposed frustration at the turn of events. All the time, he made a point to carefully observe the single dot of yellow in the air.

"Nuh-uh, I believe we have one rule: burn the official rulebook. Therefore, anything can go down!" Tails shouted back, laughing heartily at the uncharacteristic pouty expression that took reign on his grounded opponent's facial features at that moment.

"Yeah, now that I think about that silly mad-up rule…Not exactly the wisest thing I've ever done," the speedster answered back, scratching his head awkwardly.

"And you know what else goes down?" asked the now airborne combatant rhetorically with one hand raised, a pebble tightly held in his grasp. "Gravity…and this!" he shouted before swinging his arm as hard as he could, sending the object hurling toward Sonic at an impressive speed and with deadly accuracy to top things off.

Had it not been for his reflexes, Sonic would have been knocked out then and there by the small projectile.

'_Whoa_!' he looked at the spot where the rock had landed and cringed slightly, _'Kid's got a pair of good arms. Must be from all the swinging he does with the heavy tools and consistently carrying T-pup around, heh heh_…_Not bad'_ he thought and tried to conceal a proud smile in the midst of the duel. Quickly directing his gaze skyward once more, he steeled himself for the cub's next strikes.

"There's more where that came from," Tails cried and started to make the sky rain rocks with all the gathered objects he had managed to collect without his opponent's knowledge.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Sonic simply looked at the torrent of pebbles with a calculating glint in his eyes and momentarily allowed a sly grin to take over his face. "Bring it!" he shouted back before circling the arena and dodging the tiny substances.

A counterattack plan had already been formulated in his head, but the hard part was waiting for the right moment to carry it out.

From times to times, Tails would run out of ammo, so he would quickly swoop down, taking utmost precautions to keep his distance, to pick up more and immediately take to the sky before Sonic could even attempt to get close.

'_Wow, he's a lot more durable than I give him credit for…' _Sonic thought amid the torrent ofpebbles,_ 'Well, go figures. The kid did singlehandedly level an armada for crying out loud. And judging from the way he moves up there, it's unlikely he'll get tired anytime soon, that means I can't get to him. Man, I have to admit that's some great thinking using everything around you to your advantage, Tails…But I also have certain tricks up my sleeve as well_. _Tricks that you haven't seen yet…This battle is far from over,_' Sonic's thought stretched on.

After dodging Tails' relentless barrage for a while, he located a safe spot and curled up into a tight ball once again, much to his sparring partner's bewilderment.

"The Spin Dash won't protect you forever, Sonic!" Tails taunted and kept the pressure on the hedgehog.

"Okay, time to take this new move for a test spin" Sonic muttered under his breath, somewhat reluctant to resort to using an offensive maneuver that he had yet to attain complete mastery over.

Right before Tails' questioning stare, his ball form accelerated, leaped into the air and zoomed in on the pebble closest to the ground. It was a direct hit, and Sonic fell back to the earth again right after the impact. He could hear Sonic yelling something in frustration, but the hedgehog would try the same move over and over again.

'_Perfect_!' the airborne genius thought from the safe distance, _'When he's worn out, I'll drop down and finish this battle in a flash. Even if he can dodge that, I'll simply use the same tactic over and over until he's finally out of steam. There's no way Sonic can reach me when I'm in the air. No matter what happens, this fight is as good as mine as long as I stay out of his reach,' _his train of thoughts continued as a proud smile bloomed across his mouth.

However, contrary to the young tactician's expectation, Sonic, after ten tries, did not fall back to the ground after hitting the closest pebble this time.

In fact, Sonic, as Tails witnessed with eyes the side of saucers in apparent awe, seemed to be defying gravity altogether as he kept on hitting the subsequent pebbles in fast and continuous zic-zac motions, gradually approaching the fox.

"No…way…" Tails found himself muttering when Sonic suddenly reached his current altitude only seconds later, accomplishing a feat that in the genius' mind was considered impossible for the speedster. "H-How?" he continued, voice trembling.

"Homing Attack" replied Sonic with his usual grin plastered on his face as he looked at his friend. He was now close enough to lay his hands on his stunned opponent, who seemed to be so overcome with surprise that he was not able to react quickly enough, "Something I devised especially for aerial foes. I haven't fully mastered it yet, but it's still helpful enough to do this!"

Saying nothing else at that point, the hedgehog quickly grabbed Tails' hand and pulled the fox's into a tight hug – one that was virtually impossible for the former to break free from.

"You know what else goes down, kiddo?" Sonic asked, copying the tone the fox had used previously, and stared as the shocked cub, "Us!"

Gravity then played its natural part once again and pulled both combatants down toward the ground. The ride was less than pleasant for Tails, as he immediately screwed his eyes shut and braced for impact, trying in vain to block out the recollection of the traumatic moments when the Tornado had been shot and hurled toward the earth back in Wing Fortress Zone not so long ago.

The traumatic memory itself and the lingering fear resulted from it now held the cub in a tight grip, unbeknownst to Sonic.

Just before the two bodies hit the ground, however, Sonic quickly turned back into his more durable balled up form, successfully withstanding the collision and at the same time shielding his partner from danger as well. He opened up a few seconds later, with Tails still trapped in his embrace.

"And he scored a perfect ten for finishing the battle with style!" said Sonic dramatically before he finally took notice of the uncontrollably shaking bundle of fur against his chest. And it made him widen his eyes in concern.

Tails now had his eyes shut tight and his hands were balled into tight, trembling fists as he fought back the dreadful memory. Muffed whimpers could also be heard escaping his quivering lips. At that pitiful sight, Sonic felt a wave of regret wash over him. _'Crud, I scared the kid more than I thought. Dang it, you are such an idiot_, _Sonic_,' he cringed inwardly as he gently traced a comforting hand along the child's back.

"Shh Shh, Tails. It's alright…" he cooed softly in the kid's ear, "I'm sorry for scaring you. It's okay, it's okay now. You're safe. We're all safe…"

It took a bit more efforts on the hedgehog's part before the memory left Tails' head. With the experience gone, his quivering was completely quelled soon after, and the fox opened his eyes once more to survey his current location.

"I…I'm sorry," he said all of the sudden the moment he spotted the concern and guilt radiating from his best friend's darkened eyes. Not only did that apology fail to calm the hedgehog down, that anguish and regretful tone made Sonic surprised even more. Before he could ask, however, Tails cut him off and went on with his speech, "I…I overacted…I just…remembered something unpleasant, that's all. It's not your fault that I…"

Having heard quite enough, Sonic pressed one finger against the child's lips and silenced him immediately.

"I've got to stop you there, bud. It was clearly my fault for spooking you the way I did. So I'm sorry. This may be a training spar, but I got carried away and crossed the line back then."

"It's okay…I'm fine now. Honest!" Tails spoke up after a brief moment of silence between the two friends.

"Still, I'm sorry, kiddo…I guess I was too competitive…There's no excuse for winning at the cost of…" Sonic muttered sheepishly, but a quiet chuckle from the little boy in his hands reached his ears and cut him off.

"Win?" asked Tails with a rather shaky voice, but he now had an amused expression on his face. "Last I checked, I was on top of you, and both of your shoulders touched the ground, so by default, I'm the victor here," he explained with a sheepish smile.

Sonic, momentarily stunned by the sudden change of mood, could only stare at the child with his mouth agape. It was then that he noticed that the kid's expressive orbs held a subtle hint of concern as they gazed into his own. '_Oh Tails'_ he thought fondly yet somewhat sadly as his expression softened once more_, 'You're far too nice for your own good sometimes.' _

Forcing a grin to take over his face seconds afterward, the older hedgehog then playfully poked the kid's belly and replied with a dangerously low voice, "Well, then I guess I should aim for an equalizer now, shouldn't I? Round two begins!" he added with a very mischievous smirk, much to Tails' horror.

"Don't you even think about it!" shouted the fox, looking somewhat terrified by what he was sure was to transpire next. He quickly broke out of Sonic's loosed grip and made a move to run, but as to be expected, his speed was no match for the infamous speed demon.

In an instant, Tails suddenly found himself pinned to the ground by his best friend, who could not possible look more menacing with that Chesire Cat's grin plastered on his face.

"Please…have mercy…" the child muttered pathetically and tried to wiggle out in vain.

"Like you said, bud," Sonic began, cracking his fingers for more dramatic effects, "We have only one rule. Therefore…"

As soon as the last word escaped his mouth, a bout of hysterical and uncontrollable laughter started, its volume easily reaching to the furthest corners of the desolated landscape and echoing throughout the entirety of the Mystic Ruins. Sometimes, breathless pleas could be heard coming from the subdued ticklish fox amid the roaring laughter. Those pleas, unfortunately, fell on deaf ears as Sonic's fingers relentlessly located and assaulted the fox's weakest spots.

In the middle of the battle arena, the two brothers continued on with the rest of their play day after a good training session, chasing and wrestling one another without a single care in the world. Too engrossed in their games, the two were, as a result, completely and utterly oblivious to their gleeful robotic pet a little distance away, whose camera was already rolling, meticulously recording every detail in secret.


	6. Settling In - Chapter 6

**I really need some relief in life and a much-needed break from university, and the only thing I can think of at the moment is writing something down. For some reason, writing is pretty therapeutic. I haven't logged into this site for quite a while now, so I must admit that it feels extremely nice to visit it again, and better that I actually managed to find some free time to finish this chapter. I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. **

**Note: The drabbles in this series do not follow a chronological order.**

* * *

Stargazing

He was running as fast as his tired legs could carry him. His breaths came out as pants, and he could feel literally every fiber of his being burn due to the intense physical exertion he was putting his body through. However, he never slowed down, never looked back. He simply continued onward like his very life depended on it.

And it truly was.

He did not know where he currently was nor did he have even the faintest idea where he was supposed to go due to the endless veil of blackness around him, yet he persisted.

'Get out of here!' his mind urged, and his body painfully obliged. 'Get out of here quick!'

He could feel the wind picking up and hear the faint rustlings of the trees nearby, although no trees were in sight. Moments later, the eerie rustlings began to pick up even further and eventually turned into ghostly whispers – whispers of those whose voices had long been etched into his scarred mind a long time ago.

"Run! That's right. Run! That's all you're good at! That's all you're ever good for…" said one among the various, forcing the boy to shut his eyes tightly and lowered his head in a futile attempt to block out the cruel taunts.

"Friends? Take a good long look at yourself in a mirror! Who would ever want to be friends with the likes of you? Why don't you go search out some mutants to be with? Maybe they'll allow you to cling to them for a while!" spat a bully. At this point, he gained even more speed, but still could not shake off the invisible assailants that were coming at him rapidly from all directions.

"The sky belongs to us superior birds. It's not meant to be shared by freaks!" jeered another, more malicious voice from his distant past. A blurry image of an angry green-feathered avian flying toward him at top speed in a treacherous terrain then popped into his mind uninvited, sending another wave of fear throughout his small frame.

More and more voices assaulted his sensitive ears, followed by countless jumbled explosions and smashing noises in the background, all of which only served to further terrify the fleeing child.

"Stop it…" he muttered and vainly put both hands against his ears. The taunts and the noises, however, seemed to intensify, echoing inside his head and increasing in volume tenfold. "Please…Stop it…" he pleaded once more, to whoever would be willing to listen.

Only more taunts answered his desperate pleas.

"I don't know why that pest of a pincushion would bother keeping a fleabag like you around, but honestly, I don't really care," snarled an egg-shaped man in a red jumpsuit as he glared at the child from his aircraft.

"No…" he tried to protest, but his voice only came out as a soft, almost inaudible whisper that was lost among the others. "He…He said he loved me…He said I was his friend…"

All of the sudden, the wind turned into a raging storm. Its vicious blows hit him directly in his face and almost blew him away. When he opened his eyes once more, he abruptly found himself piloting the Tornado at the exact moment it was shot down by a powerful laser beam, sending him spiraling out of control toward the ground. The last thing he saw was the look on a certain hedgehog of blue far away, looking down at him with a neutral face void of all emotions before quickly disappearing into the aircraft he was on.

Another explosion was heard when the Tornado hit the ocean, and everything faded to black.

…

Tails woke up with a start and began to pant breathlessly. His eyes were rid of all sleepiness and were currently wide with unconcealed terror, and his entire body was now glistening with perspirations. The child's entire frame was currently shaking against the blanket wrapping around him, which could do very little to help ease the growing tension he was experiencing.

Immediately, Tails dashed his clouded orbs around the darkened room, searching for anything or anyone that could potentially hurt him in his most vulnerable state. Once his hazy mind finally registered that he was safe in sound within the confine of his personal bedroom, the distressed fox calmed down, but he could not shake off the lingering fear resulted from the night terror he had just experienced.

"It's just a dream…It's just a dream…It's just a dream…" he whispered the mantra nervously under his breath, seemingly not even aware of doing it himself.

Glancing at the alarm clock on his nightstand, Tails noted that it was only an hour past midnight. He wanted to go back to the domain of sleep, but he could not, for obvious reasons. Tails feared the slim possibility that he would have to go through another unpleasant trip down the memory lane once more.

With a defeated sigh, he reluctantly got out of bed.

"I need some fresh air…" he said to no-one in particular - a habit he had unconsciously developed during his years of loneliness in an attempt to combat the sad fact that he had absolutely nobody to confide in or give him advice. "Yeah, fresh air…Maybe that'll calm me down."

While making his way toward the front door, Tails exercised extreme caution to avoid the creaky old parts of the floor. The last thing he wanted was to wake Sonic up unnecessarily because of one single nightmare. Tails wanted to prove himself to his hero and only organic friend, and a simple nightmare would, in his young mind, ruin his chances with that goal.

With trained stealth that could rival or even put the veteran spies to shame, the young cub successfully reached his destination seconds later and went outside.

Immediately, he was hit a chilly gust of wind. If it had not been for his natural coat of fur, he would have sneezed aloud already. After waiting for a moment to allow his body to adjust to cold temperature of the Mystic Ruins, Tails the made his way to his familiar spot underneath the great oak tree and settled down.

"I'm pathetic…" he chastised himself after sitting in silence for a brief while. "A long time has passed, and here I am, having flashbacks about my past. I'm supposed to be over that by now! Why am I so weak?" he spoke to himself with frustration oozing out from his tone, which was directed at none but himself.

Releasing a defeated sigh, Tails leaned back against the hardened trunk and allowed his gaze to wander toward the starlit heaven above. The corners of his lips twitched upward a bit as he watched the countless tiny dots illuminate the darkened sky. Tails always found those dots fascinating as they were filled with both scientific wonders and breathtaking beauty, all rolled into one.

"I miss this…" said Tails softly as he spotted his favorite asterism, the Big Dipper.

Tails then began the one-man game of spotting the different stars he had committed to memory. He relaxed his body against the tree and began to let his eyes roam freely, searching and vocally pointing out the anything that he was familiar with to himself.

"Hey, I can see the Little Dipper; and that constellation over there is called the Cassiopeia and that's the Draco…" Tails whispered happily as he pointed his finger toward the constellations he spotted, acting like there actually was a companion nearby with whom he could share his knowledge with.

Suddenly, his eyes widened in childish delight as he saw a shooting star flashing across the tranquil night sky. "Wow…Maybe if I make a wish, it can…" he began, only to stop himself almost immediately. His fleeting happy mood was gone, as fast as his had come. Now, only bitterness and sadness took reign inside the child's mind and soul.

"Never mind…" he spoke softly, head lowered. Instinctively, Tails wrapped both of his trademark appendages around his body, curled up into a small ball and laid his forehead against his knees – as if those gestures would shield him from the looming, creeping darkness of bitterness that had been haunting him for as long as his brain could remember. "What's the point anyway? It's just a stupid myth…I'm tired of making the same wish over and over…" he continued his monologue.

Indeed he had – a wish so familiar yet ever so distant, a dream that he had, for thousands or perhaps millions of times before, made underneath the same night sky and on countless shooting stars throughout his entire lonely existence.

Tails could vaguely register the fact that the night had gotten colder at some point during his morbid musing. Even with his fur, he could still feel the cold air stinging him. He began to shiver. His rational mind urged him to go back inside the house to get some much-needed rest, but the memory of the nightmare was still fresh, thus preventing any thoughts of shutting his eyes even for a split second.

In the end, Tails remained where he was, curled up into a tight little ball in the middle of a dark cold night.

His moping time, however, was not meant to last, and it was abruptly ended when he felt something soft and warm wrap around him. The sudden warmth jolted the fox, and he lifted his head up in alarm, only to come into contact with two familiar emerald eyes that were looking into his own. Even in the blackness, he could still see the concern mixed with something akin to relief in those orbs.

Calming down, Tails grabbed tightened his hold on the newly placed blanket and talked to the newcomer.

"What are you still doing up, Sonic?" he asked and diverted his gaze from the hedgehog. As a result, he failed to spot the sight of the addressed raising one brow in amusement.

"Really?" asked Sonic incredulously, but the slight amusement in his voice was not lost on the blushing fox, "Oh what the heck, since you asked, I may as well tell you," said the hedgehog as he plopped down on the spot next to his companion.

"I woke up for a drink and saw the door to your bedroom open. I peeked in and almost had a mini heart attack until I saw a kid sitting forlornly out here - alone and shivering in the cold. I swear if I had spotted you a second later, I would have run straight to one of Robotnik's bases and dropped his bass," he added with a hint of humor, which did nothing to ease the increasing shame Tails was feeling at the moment.

"I'm really sorry for worrying you…" Tails said sheepishly, ducking his head in shame for alerting his friend.

"Nah, it's fine. I'm just glad that nothing major happened on my watch," Sonic replied in his casual and light-hearted tone, but the sigh of relief the followed conveyed more than what had been expressed. "So buddy, now is my turn for some answers. What are you doing out here when you should be in bed, asleep?"

"…Nothing much," the younger replied, but still refused to look at the hedgehog, "I couldn't sleep, so I opted for a stargazing session instead. It helps calm me down."

"Uh-huh…" Sonic replied, his tone and gaze filled with skepticism, but he elected to stay quiet. "Mind if I join in?" he continued after a brief interval, earning a dumbfounded expression on the smaller kid's face. The expression itself was both funny and heart-wrenching at the same time, for it showed just how much the young soul had been neglected throughout his childhood, to the point that he reacted with such intensity to one simple friendly offer.

"Excuse me?" Tails asked, not even bothering to mask his disbelief. With a sigh, Sonic offered his younger companion a sincere smile and asked again, "Do you mind if I join you?"

Tails still wore that stunned expression on his face, and his mouth was, unbeknownst to the fox, agape. However, after seconds had come to pass, he was able to recompose himself, "No…No, I don't…" he answered sheepishly.

"Sweet!" Sonic exclaimed and threw one hand over his friend's shoulder, pulling him closer, much to the latter's surprise.

"Oh, and by the way, can you tell me what I'm supposed to be looking at? Apart from the Polaris, I know nothing about the whole stargazing thing."

"Nothing?" Tails tilted his head questioningly and asked, "Like absolutely nothing?"

"Zero, zip, zilch, nada – Nothing. I may be an adventurer with a decent amount of knowledge about nature, but I'm more, uh, _grounded_. So, if you don't mind, can you walk me through the whole constellation concept or whatchamacallit?"

Disbelief lingered for a little while longer on the child's face before it was swept away by pure childlike happiness. "Sure!" Tails almost shouted with excitement with a smile as big as could be adorning his facial features.

Tails then began the entire process of explaining about the different constellations once more. Only this time, he really did have a companion with him, who was at the moment quite content with simply listening and asking for clarifications at certain points. During the entire stargazing session, he occasionally stole a few glances at the fox and felt his heart swell with joy at the sight of his younger buddy's contagious enthusiasm.

Sonic could not help but let out a soft chuckle as he listened to Tails talking about the universe and all of its undiscovered wonders. And he would go on and on for a long time until his tiredness returned and his eyes began to droop. Before long, Tails was leaning heavily against Sonic's side, eyes fluttering but still persistently fighting the call of sleep. It was apparent, however, that he was fighting a losing battle.

"I think that's enough astrology lesson for one night, professor Tails. Why don't we head back inside and catch some Zs, savvy?" suggested Sonic, who, against Tails' feeble protests, scooped him up and began to make his way toward their shared home with the wrapped bundle of fur in his arms.

"Not sleepy…No want sleep…Ni…mare…" Tails muttered incoherently in the hedgehog's hold, his mind was practically blank. Before long, he could feel the familiar fabric of his bed against his back once more. Any further attempts at protest were instantly quelled by the feeling of his best friend's hand affectionately rubbing his head.

"Sweet dreams," was the last thing Tails heard before he drifted off to a dreamless and content slumber.

Releasing a sigh, Sonic began to stand up and make his way back to his own room, but a quiet whisper stopped him on his track.

"…All I've ever wanted…is to be loved…" Tails muttered subconsciously as he clutched his blanket more tightly in his sleep and turned to his side, disappearing completely into the fabric around his small frame. A few more sleepy mutterings came from the heap on the bed, but they were all muffed and meaningless.

Lingering at the door for a bit longer, Sonic then decided to close it and lied down on the empty space next to the sleeping fox, who was surprisingly too deep in sleep to notice the sudden shift.

After making himself comfortable as much as he possibly could on the small bed, Sonic then wrapped one hand around his smaller friend and pulled him closer. Gently pulling the blanket down to reveal Tails' head, Sonic gently patted the slumbering child gently with a half smile on his face.

"Then all you have to do is ask," he whispered into one triangular ear before he too, succumbed to the sweet allure of sleep.


	7. Settling In - Chapter 7

**Yay, free time! Free time from school! Some free time at last! And that means more writing to satisfy this unquenchable thirst inside of me. I hope you will enjoy this new chapter of mine, dear readers.**

* * *

Face Thy Fears (Part 1)

"No, no, no and NO!" said Tails with finality in his tone, which did not help improve Sonic's currently foul mood.

"Oh come on, Tails!" Sonic raised his voice a little, unable to contain his exasperation after spending half an hour of his day on a seemingly impossible cause. "Why is it that every. Single. Time this topic comes up, you have to be so darn stubborn?" he continued, arms flinging carelessly above his head.

"Because this is a free country where everyone can decide for themselves what they want to do and because it's my decision" Tails retorted, "I call the shot, and I say NAY! End of discussion! Have a lovely day!" added the addressed fox sarcastically, blue eyes alit with unwavering passion, before he abruptly turned back to his book and ignored his best friend.

Softly smacking his palm against his forehead and releasing a silent sigh, Sonic mentally counted to ten to cool down his rising nerves before resuming the task e had set out to do that day.

Normally, Tails was extremely obedient and cooperative, but there were instants, which were thankfully far and few n between, where the fox would become dreadfully persistent, much to the hedgehog's distaste. The young fox did not enter his obstinate mode very often, for there were only a handful of events or requests from Sonic that could consequently flip that switch.

However, at this very moment, Sonic was faced with a challenge so big that it could potentially shred his iron will to nonexistent pieces – tackling the highest-ranking item on Tails' metaphorical flip-switch list.

Obviously, he was experiencing little to no success with his efforts.

"Okay, okay…I swear if we keep doing this, People will change from Big Blue to Grieved Gray pretty soon," he muttered under his breath briefly before turning back to regard his younger friend. "Let's try this again, shall we?" Sonic began once more after he had calmed down somewhat. He even lowered his voice to appear reasonable.

"Tails, listen to me. I know this is very difficult for you…

"Very!" Tails chimed in, but the hedgehog simply let it slide.

"Very! I know. But you've got to do it sooner or later. And I'd rather you did it sooner rather than later."

His speech was met with deliberate silence from the kid, whose head was still buried in his book.

"I know you can hear me, Tails!" Sonic tried again, this time with a sterner tone. He loved the kid to death. Really, he did – more than anything in the existence - but there were limits to how much he could dote on the child. "Put down that book and look at me. Now!"

With a tired sigh, Tails reluctantly put down his encyclopedic paperback and directed his vision at the hedgehog. Rebellion was clearly conveyed through his gaze.

"What do you want me to do, huh?" snapped Tails as he stood up from the couch and began to pace around the room in a frantic manner. "Like you said, this is very - and let's take a moment to put a gigantic emphasis on the keyword here - VERY difficult for me. You can't just waltz in out of the blue and say, 'Hey, Tails, I know you went through a big trauma about meeting other people, so do you want to go and meet some people in town?' like everything is cool and dandy like that!"

"Okay, first of all, I don't talk like that," Sonic managed through gritted teeth and took a step back, exhaling slowly, "And secondly, I know you have bad memories about going outside and seeing people other than me," Sonic attempted to reason with his best buddy, who was very adamant on making things hard for him. "But you can't just keep locking yourself away from the rest of the world like some sort of hermit. It's not healthy!"

"I'd rather be a hermit than a punching bag," Tails replied with a huff.

"Don't say that, kid. Being cut off from civilizations is not cool. Trust me, I've seen some people during my travels, and most of them had some screws loose inside their heads. Besides, you don't know for sure that the people here will make fun of you. Who knows, maybe they are accepting folks like me. Just because you had one bad experience with one group of people doesn't mean everyone you meet will turn out like that. Take me for example."

"That's actually an interesting point you made there…So, if you don't mind me asking…How can you know for sure they won't treat me like the people on Cocoa Island, huh? On what evidence do you base your claim?" the fox raised his voice in an unusual challenging manner.

"Tails, just calm down and be reasonable here…" Sonic attempted to placate the cub to no avail.

"Reasonable? Newsflash, Sonic, I am being perfectly, one hundred and twenty percent reasonable here," Tails interrupted again, ignoring the fuming expression on the other's face.

"I'm being really reasonable, and I'm also being realistic. On what basis can you be sure that the people of Station Square will like me? How can you be sure they won't call me names and humiliate me in public? How can you…" Tails was then cut off by a sudden shout escaping from the other's lips.

"I DON'T KNOW, OKAY!" Sonic finally and uncharacteristically snapped. The force of his voice startled the younger fox and made him take a few steps back, almost falling on his backside as a result. The shock-filled expression that reigned on the child's face made Sonic step back as guilt stabbed him in the heart.

A veil of silence descended upon the two for a brief interval before an awkward cough from the hedgehog broke it.

"Tails…I'm sorry for snapping at you like that" said Sonic, one hand scratching the back of his head bashfully.

In response, Tails sat where he was and instinctively wrapped his namesakes around his bent knees. He looked smaller – much smaller – than usual in his current position, and his eyes held a haunting glow to them, as if he was looking at something far away.

Simply put, it was a pitiful sight, one that made Sonic deflate instantly, all of his bottled up annoyance and irritation gone in one single second. The only thing left inside was guilt and shame for scaring his buddy.

Letting out another defeated sigh, Sonic then carefully approached the heap of fur on the floor. Once he had ascertained that Tails would not bolt, he kneeled down in front of the curled up fox and placed one tentative hand on his slightly trembling shoulder.

"Tails?" he began, his voice a barely audible whisper. "I'm sorry for snapping at you."

"…It's okay, Sonic…It was partly my fault anyway for being a brat," the kid replied, but still refused to meet his friend's concerned gaze.

"No, you were partly right. I should have been a bit more delicate about this. It's obvious that you are still haunted by what happened in the past and I should have been more patient in dealing with the problem. There is no excuse for my behavior."

Tails simply sat still, unmoving.

"Tails? Buddy?" Sonic squeezed his hand slightly, "Could you look at me?"

Slowly, two clouded sky-blue orbs locked into the hedgehog's emerald ones. Just the sight of those eyes made the guilt in Sonic's chest rise again, but he managed to subdue it.

"Look kid, I know that you had bad run-ins with the wrong kinds of people in the past, and it hurt you. It still hurts you, and I know you can't simply forget about what happened or do anything about it. But the thing is...if you continue running from your problem, it will never get solved. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Tails, in response, only nodded and looked away, head down.

"I just want you to be free and happy, Tails" Sonic continued, "And to do that, you need to face and overcome your fears. You can't continue on living in isolation like this. Like I said, it's not healthy to be detached from others. Many people have gone mad from loneliness, and I don't want that to happen t you."

"But I'm scared…" said a soft, broken voice from the younger of the duo as his namesakes tightened their hold around his legs. "I'm terrified, petrified…what if they hate me…I just…I just don't want to be hated again…"

The memory of the wish Tails had unknowingly spoken in his sleep some nights earlier resurfaced in Sonic's mind, _'All I've ever wanted…is to be loved…'_

"You won't be kiddo" Sonic whispered soothingly into the fox's ear, yet the whisper carried a strong conviction in every syllable that came out. " You asked me how can I know what other people will do. Well, I don't know, and there's no way for me to know for sure what's going on in other people's heads. However, while I may not know what other people will do, I sure know what I will do – what I will always do. And I can give you my word, Tails, that I will always, ALWAYS be by your side no matter what."

At that moment, Tails turned around and looked straight into Sonic's eyes. Shining brightly in those orbs was sincerity – nothing but absolute sincerity. At that sight, Tails could only smile – in appreciation and in relief at the knowledge that at the very least, he knew for certain that he was loved.

Maybe things would go south with other people, but at the very least, Tails knew he was loved by Sonic, and that thought alone made his heart swell with happiness and pride.

"Thank you" he whispered back, voice cracking a little.

"Don't mention it," Sonic replied casually and rubbed the child's head playfully, enticing a bout of giggles from Tails. "Now that's music to my ears" Sonic added, "Alrighty then, let's forget about this ever happened for the time being. If you don't want to go now, then let's not. I understand and respect your decision, so I will wait until you are finally ready, Tails. In the meantime, why don't we go to the kitchen and grab a bite? It's almost lunch now, and I am not running on an empty stomach."

The hedgehog then made a move to stand up, but he suddenly felt a soft tug on his fingers, prompting him to look down again.

"What is it Tails?"

The addressed fox did not say anything in return. He simply sat where he was and stared at a spot on the floor, his eyes taking a faraway look. Tails would remain still in that same position for a while longer, his hold on the hedgehog's fingers never once slackened.

"Tails?" Sonic asked again, slightly concerned about the lack of response he was receiving from the cub. "Are you alright?"

A few more seconds passed before Tails looked up. He looked at Sonic with newfound determination shining brilliantly in his eyes – the like of which Sonic had seen multiple times during their adventures together on Westside Island.

"I'll do it…" came a voice as soft as a whisper, but still audible, from the fox.

"Pardon?"

"I'll do it" Tails repeated, raising his volume a little, and at that time, the conviction and determination in his tone were clearly conveyed to the hearer. "I'll go to Station Square. You're right, Sonic. I need to face my fears, and now is as good as ever I suppose."

In response to that, Sonic kneeled down once more and wrapped his little friend in a tight hug, surprising Tails as a result. He soon relaxed and enjoyed the contact seconds later.

"I'm proud of you, kid. Really proud," Sonic said and could not help but smile.

"Promise you will always be by my side?" asked Tails as he returned the gesture, to which the hedgehog replied with one simple word.

"Always!"

To be continued.


	8. Settling In - Chapter 8

Face Thy Fears (Part 2)

"Uh…I think I forgot something back home, so I'll zip back there real quick and…" Tails said meekly before he was interrupted by his best friend, who was walking behind him a few steps to prevent the younger from bolting.

"Nice try, kid" Sonic cut in, "But it's too late to chicken out now. You said you'd do it, and you are going to do it. It's just one short trip to town to grab a bite anyway. It'll be over before you know it."

"I…Well, I…I may have changed my mind and take you up on your previous offer?" Tails replied, smiling sweetly at the hedgehog. Unfortunately for the young fox, his childish charm was ineffective.

"Unfortunately, that offer expired the moment you walked out the door," replied the hedgehog decisively, causing Tails to hang his head. "...Now where's the burning determination and passion that you showed just a few minutes ago?" Sonic added after seeing the forlorn look on the young cub's face.

"…They may have decided to take an early vacation…" Tails said, holding up one finger sheepishly, the weak smile still plastered on his face. He stopped talking immediately, however, and directed his gaze toward the earthly path leading to Station Square the moment Sonic turned and looked at him with stern, somewhat reprimanding eyes.

"Alright, stop, just…just stop," said the hedgehog, both arms outstretched for emphasis. In an instant, both creatures halted. Sonic then walked forward and looked directly in Tails' eyes, slightly unnerving the latter with the unusual intensity and seriousness.

"Tails" Sonic began after a brief moment of silence, "Come on, it's hard enough that we have to wait for what - a month-ish, I have no idea - to actually get to this point, and now you want to go back to square one?"

"But, this is hard…There will be people and stares and…and…" said the younger, twin tails instinctively wrapping themselves around his small frame.

"I know, kid, I know…but like I said, it's better to face the problem head-on sooner rather than later" Sonic consoled his friend and laid one comforting hand on his trembling shoulder. "Besides, like I promised, I'll be there, and this time, if anyone so much as breathes the wrong way when they see you, I'll pummel them to the ground!"

"Uh, let's…not get violent here. You still have a reputation to keep, you know. I wouldn't want my face to appear on the headlines as the main reason for a world-renown hero going berserk. One reason is bad enough."

"…Friend comes before reputation" Sonic huffed with a roll of his eyes and spoke with unusual seriousness, feeling his heart ache at the last bit of Tails' rambling. After a brief interval of silence, he added in a forced jovial voice that was not dissimilar to his real one, "The dictionary says so, so it's so."

"…You're weird," Tails said with an amused expression adorning his face, slightly less intimidated by his current situation.

"And? What's your point?" Sonic replied with his usual grin, delighted that his gesture was rewarded with the sight of a merrily chuckling Tails, before turning back to the direction where the city was located. "Let's continue then, the sooner we get this done, the better."

"…Okay then…" Tails stood still for a while before he finally agreed to proceed with his plan, albeit with some reluctance. No more words were exchanged as the duo then resumed their journey.

Approximately half an hour had come to pass, and the two friends were standing right in front of the entrance of Station Square. The bright sign that said, "Welcome to Station Square! Enjoy your visit!" scared Tails, for he was unsure if he would actually enjoy his first visit or actually make it his last time appearing in public.

'_Well, at least I have someone to keep me company…' _he thought with bitterness as his blue eyes studied the sign before him. He then felt a comforting hand on his shoulder, and another smile formed only seconds later.

"Let's go!" urged Sonic gently as he gave Tails a little push. The latter took deep breath to calm down his growing nerves. Once he was moderately ready to face the challenge, Tails promptly walked past the sign, officially entering civilization for the first time in a long time with Sonic not far behind.

'_I can do this'_ he thought in an attempt to motivate himself, '_Sonic is here, so it can't possibly be that hard, right?' _

After approximately ten minutes of walking in Station Square, he got the answer – hard. Extremely, utterly, horrifyingly, mortifyingly and decisively hard!

Station Square was not like the small remote island which Tails had grown used to. On the contrary, it was huge, and the people of the city were diverse – Not only were there anthropomorphic creatures like himself and Sonic around, there were also humans, who, in his opinion, were much more intimidating than the others due to their imposing heights and sizes. Everywhere he glanced, he was met with people, but that was not the worst part.

The worst part about the whole thing was their eyes, which were all directed at him as he timidly treaded – some were filled with unconcealed curiosity, some with fascination, and the rest were downright indiscernible as they seemed to fall on their singular target.

The stares made Tails uneasy, and he knew he was slowly losing control of the functions of his own limbs as the seconds ticked away. His arms were shaking madly by his side and so were his legs, hindering his balance somewhat, and yet Tails failed to will them to stop. He did not know if Sonic was aware of his nerves, but if the hedgehog had, he was doing a very fine job of not interfering.

As seconds turned to minutes, even breathing became a labor for the poor cub; his breaths came out as short gasps, sounding as if he had been running for miles prior to entering the city. Almost instinctively, the two bushy tails behind him wrapped themselves around his torso in a protective fashion in a futile attempt to ease some of his infernal distress. To his horror, however, the act only seemed to encourage further scrutiny from the inquisitive passers-by as they laid eyes on those namesakes, now fully bare for all to witness.

After all, a fox with two tails is a very rare sight for one to chance upon, much to said fox's dismay. He even had to gather up what was left of his courage and will himself to not turn around and flee back to the mountains when a series of flashing lights entered his peripheral vision.

'_No…'_ Tails thought as he spotted the crowd around him, which had grown exponentially larger than before. He looked at Sonic briefly, bottom lip quivering in fear, to silently plead with the hedgehog to get out of this situation. Sonic acknowledged his desperate plea, and though it pained the hedgehog to see his best friend in such a state, he only offered Tails a slight shake of his head and a reassuring smile – a strained one, as Tails could clearly see.

"Trust me" he whispered softly as he stepped closer to the fox and took the lead. Tails could only sigh in resignation and resumed his journey as his fingers curled tightly around his only friend's hand.

At that moment, many people were holding their phones, and he could see that they were recording him – his abnormality, his mutation…all laid bare for the entire world to see, and without a doubt, for some to frown upon and judge him, not for who he was, but for what he was _perceived_ to be by something he had absolutely no control over.

Tails, at that very moment, wished he could turn invisible as his free hand grabbed one trembling namesake, unconsciously squeezing it with all of his might. To make matters even worse, even his own ever rational mind was turning against him, feeding him with a stream of flashbacks of his time on the island and further distorting the already paper-thin boundary which separated the past and the present.

The only good thing about the entire predicament, in his opinion, was probably the fact that the residents of Station Square were only watching him from afar. None had made any move to approach…yet. The main reason for their hesitation was probably due to the protective-looking blue hedgehog in the lead, whose eyes seemed to glow ominously as they restlessly darted back and forth, quietly and quickly searching for any sign of animosity amidst the pool of curiosity from the gathered ones.

Though he had promised Tails to let the kid figure out his own problems, Sonic was not about to allow any further needless harm to come to his already traumatized friend if he could help it. Behind him, Tails, unaware of Sonic's actions, continued to fret and squeezed the hedgehog's hand more.

'_Please…please…please stop_…' his mind silently pleaded with the gathered crowd, their eyes seemed to pierce through him from all fathomable directions. '_Please…please stop staring…I can't take this…Hide…I need to run, get out of here…_' his mind urged, and his body concurred.

Before he could turn tail and ran, however, he felt a tug on his hand that held him in place. Subsequently, the same gentle, soothing touch that the child had grown accustomed to was once again felt upon his shoulder, prompting him to instantly whip his head around and look at the owner of the outstretched hand.

"Tails, breathe! Now!" Sonic commanded with a note of urgency, and Tails immediately followed. Sonic, after a sigh of relief, then went on to ask about his well-being, but the sad expression on the fox's face spoke volumes already.

"I'm…I'm…" Tails tried to answer as he looked around, but only incoherent mumblings left his mouth.

Sonic, at that moment, felt utterly helpless for he could do nothing more than frown sadly at his distraught friend. Never before had he ever witnessed such a horrified expression upon the face of a child, who should be filled with happiness and life. At that thought, his heart dropped. He needed to say something to ease the kid's agony, and he needed to do it fast.

Unfortunately, before he could, one member of the crowd – an elderly, bushy-browed human dressed in an expensive-looking brown suit, a white shirt neatly tucked in, a red bowtie around his collar and dark-colored shoes, all of which gave him the appearance and aura of a highly trained professional and academic scholar - decided to take a step further toward the duo, camera still in hand.

Immediately, both creatures tensed as they watched the human approach.

"Fascinating!" the man exclaimed in a tone that clearly conveyed his thought when he was close enough. Tails, who was further spooked by the sudden invasion of his personal space, only cowered even more. In his moment of intrigue, the daring human failed to take notice of the warning look from the blue hedgehog.

"Hey!" shouted Sonic as he inserted himself between his friend and the rolling camera.

"If you don't mind, could you please take that thing away from my friend? He doesn't appreciate having that thing shoved in his face like that!" he continued, his voice taking in a more threatening note, and even in his current nervous state, Tails swore he could hear a growl coming out of the hedgehog's mouth.

Startled by the young hedgehog, the man took a step back and immediately put the device away.

"My apologies" he said with a low and sincere tone, "It's just that this is the first time I have had the pleasure of seeing something - excuse me, someone so unique that I can't help my compelling urges to study the subject. Such a rare genetic mutation indeed! I have never witnessed such a strange and curious product of nature! Oh my, I have heard of tales and legends and myths and even historical accounts about multi-tailed creatures such as yourself, young lad, but I never would have imagined that I would ever chance upon one in this city. How absolutely wondrous indeed!" he continued, but his tone no longer held the apologetic tone, instead, it was something akin to admiration and, as he had so clearly exclaimed earlier, fascination.

Tails looked up immediately, eyes wide not with terror, but with unadulterated surprise. The human was complimenting him? That was such a foreign thought to a child who had for so long lived in fear of his own appearance. That thought itself warranted further musings.

Sonic, on the other hand, calmed down considerably and even seemed pleased with the human's response, as shown his usual cocky grin.

"That's nice of you, mister" he said, posture more relaxed and voice cheerful, "But like I said, I don't think my friend likes being assaulted by a camera out of the blue like that."

"Again, apologies, men of science and academic pursuits such as myself don't usually know how to properly restrain ourselves when something of interest has entered out peripheral vision," he chuckled absent-mindedly to himself, "I have seen many things, but this young lad over here certainly takes the sandwich!" he added, causing the two friends to look at him with confusion and some amount of amusement.

"I believe the saying is 'takes the cake', not sandwich" Tails corrected timidly, but the relieved smile on his face was hard to miss. He was actually holding a conversation with someone other than Sonic, and thus far, no degrading term had been sent his way - at least not yet. In fact, the strange encounter was doing wonders to his nerves as it took his mind away from the prying eyes of the others still watching from afar.

"Really?" asked the human, "That's strange, I remember it is sandwich…Hmm, oh well, cake or sandwich, it's the same squishy mush when it enters and exits the body anyway, am I quite right, lads?" he continued, causing both the hedgehog and the fox to cover their mouths in slight disgust at the rather strange remark.

"Uh…yeah…quite…" Tails politely replied. Though he was still nervous, it was definitely not as bad as before. Unconsciously, a small smile graced his lips, a sight which was not missed by Sonic, who was also wearing a pleased grin himself. After all, how could he not be happy when his point had been so clearly proven true.

At that moment, another voice interrupted, "Professor! There you are!" said another human, who was noticeably more shabbily dressed than the addressed. Also, he looked like he was about to pass out from exhaustion, "The conference is about to start, and you need to be there now! And here's the copy of the manuscript you needed for it," he said, not even realizing that Tails and Sonic were there.

"Oh, yes, the presentation about the latest findings. How could I have forgotten about that?" said the professor, "Perhaps a sandwich before the talk would be lovely, yes, that sounds nice indeed…" he mumbled mostly to himself as he began to walk away, the younger man following suit.

As fast as they had come, the two humans were gone, leaving the two bewildered friends behind to look at the direction where they disappeared to only moments later.

After collecting his thought, Sonic turned around and saw that most people of the crowd has left to return to their activities, the sight of the two-tailed cub no longer captivating their thoughts any more. With a sigh of relief, he turned to Tails and was delightfully satisfied to see the bright smile on the kid's face.

"He…complimented me…" Tails whispered to himself, voice trembling with a pool of emotions, among which happiness took dominance. His entire body was also shaking as well, only this time, it was with delight, not fear that caused such a reaction. "He really complimented me…" Tails repeated once again, seemingly lost in his own little word. Thus, he failed to hear Sonic's voice.

"Hey bud, are you listening to me?" asked Sonic for the third time. He tried to sound irritated, but what came out was closer to amusement than intended.

"Yes?" Tails responded, but he then shot Sonic a playful frown when he noticed a very smug hedgehog looking at him with an infuriatingly smug grin on his face. "Fine, fine, I'll admit it. You were right. There, happy?"

"Very" said Sonic, earning an eye roll from his younger charge.

"Hmph!" Tails huffed playfully before he let his namesakes down, allowing them to sway in the air and show off their unique beauty to those who would look at them. Cautiously, he darted his eyes around to study the passes-by. To his amazement and delight, some small children, curious humans and anthropomorphic creatures looked at his Tails and spoke words of praise such as 'Cool!', 'Wow! Two tails! Awesome!', 'I heard the one that helped Sonic on Westside had two tails, is that him?' among many others.

As to be expected, there were also the unpleasant people that shot disproving looks at the cub, but one glare from Sonic was more than enough to scare them off without further complications.

The young cub looked at his faithful best friend and muttered a silent thank you, which was returned with a thumb up.

"Okay, it's way past lunch time, and frankly, I really need to gulp down a few chilidogs right now" exclaimed Sonic.

"Well, 'a few' is a serious understatement in this case."

"Yeah yeah, laugh at the hedgehog all you want, pom-pom butt," Sonic huffed before shooting Tails a playful smirk disguised by an indignant pout. The mirth of the moment was broken when a grumbling noise came out from the speedster's stomach, much to his embarrassment and Tails' amusement.

Clearing his throat, Sonic began, "So…There's a small vendor nearby that sells killer dogs. Come on, let's go before I pass out," he announced enthusiastically before leading the way, breaking away from his smaller friend's grasp.

Said fox took a moment to look at his now free hand pensively for a moment before his stoic face was replaced by a delighted grin directed at his best friend's back.

"I'm right behind you" exclaimed Tails as he matched his pace with the older hedgehog, and the two continued to head further into the city.

And Tails had to admit, his visit to civilization for the first time in a long time was turning out to be quite an enjoyable and memorable experience already.


	9. Settling In - Chapter 9

**First update in...months? I don't know, I've lost count already. It's just that it's close to finals, and I have some papers to finish, so I don't have much time for writing fanfictions. I want to make another long Sonic story (I already have an idea for that), but it is not possible at the moment due to my schedule. This is the best I could do right now, so I hope you'll like it.**

**By the way, I would like to thank readers who have taken some time to visit my stories. I truly appreciate your time and comments. Have a good day.**

* * *

Face Thy Fears (Part 3)

For the next half an hour, Tails continued walking next to Sonic as they navigated through the busy streets of Station Square. Even though the fox's feet were moving with a steady rhythm that easily matched Sonic's own, his mind was currently elsewhere.

'_Someone other than Sonic talked to me…civilly...'_ he thought with awe and a hint of happiness that was made apparent by the small smile on his lips. For the few minutes, that was all his genius mind could think of – one simple if not rather strange conversation with one stranger. However, to Tails, that was an experience unlike anything he had ever had, and the thought alone delighted him greatly.

Lost in his own thought, Tails consequently failed to notice the occasional sideway glances Sonic shot at him. As a result, he also failed to notice the upward twitches at the corner of the hedgehog's mouth that accompanied every glance he made.

'_Well, mission accomplished'_ thought the hedgehog rather smugly as he crossed both hands behind the back of his head and continued walking ahead, all the while humming to himself the song he and Tails had played a while back.

Despite his present good mood, Sonic was still extremely wary of everything around him. He still kept a very sharp eye and ear out for his surroundings, emerald orbs darting around with a sense of vigilance not dissimilar from that displayed by hawks once they had spotted their preys, for any potential threats or animosity directed at his younger charge.

Thanks to his alertness, Sonic managed to chase away some passers-by that threw less-than-pleasant looks at his friend, unbeknownst to the fox cub, of course.

After walking in comfortable silence, the hedgehog spotted an ice-cream vendor nearby and halted.

"Yo, Tails!" he called out to the distracted child, but as expected, his call fell on deaf ears as the fox continued walking ahead, not even a slightly bit aware of what was transpiring. Shaking his head fondly, Sonic reached out one hand and gently tapped Tails' shoulder. The seemingly harmless act caused every strand of hair on Tails' body to rise almost instantly. Tails then jolted and let out a yelp, his namesakes perking to attention and ears erected.

"I-wha-I-where…Sonic?" asked the cub as he at last regained his composure and directed his eyes at the source of the touch, only to find the hedgehog waving at him with an apologetic grin on his face, "You scared me. Give me a heart attack, why don't you?" said Tails, one hand on his heart.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to spook you, kid, but you were getting lost in your little la-la-land and I wouldn't want my best friend to cross the road like that, now would I?" said the hedgehog, the grin still apparent on his face, but now that Tails had a better look at it, he could see that there was also a hint of amusement directed at his reaction, "'Sides, you should have seen your face," he added with a soft chuckle.

Shooting his best friend a mock glare, Tails then let out a huff and crossed both arms in front of his chest, his childish face morphing into a pout as he looked away. That act only served to further amuse the older of the two, as evidenced by the quiet chuckles that somehow bypassed the hand on his mouth.

"Yeah yeah, laugh all you want…" Tails huffed once more and fully turned away, showing his back to Sonic.

"I hate to break it to you, Tails, but if you're trying to look tough, you're not exactly helping yourself there," replied Sonic briefly before he ruffled the cub's head, ignoring the giggles and weak protests coming from the latter.

"Alright, alright," Tails said once he had squatted the playful hand away and fixed his messed up hair at best he could. "So, may I inquire for what purpose do you, the almighty Sonic the hedgehog, seek my humble presence and attention?" he began, sarcastic.

"Oh nothing much, captain Tails. I was merely contemplating on the possibility whereby you would, so graciously, acquiesce my invitation for a cone of ice-cream, which can be purchased at a rather reasonable price from that humble yet versatile vendor across the street," replied Sonic without missing a single beat, his act completed by a bow.

"Really? 'contemplate', 'acquiesce', really?" asked Tails, humored by the hedgehog's antics, "When did you learn those words?"

"If you must know, I live with the best live encyclopedia on the planet, so I tend to pick up stuff every now and then," replied the hedgehog, "Oh, that reminds me, you might want to do something about that sleep-talking thingy you do almost every night."

"I most certainly don't talk in my sleep!" Tails protested, abashed, "And you have no proof of that."

"Really, then how come I've already memorized most of the items in the A section of the _E__ncyclopædia Britannica_ despite not having read the thing. Oh, and don't get me started on physics equations."

"...Must be your imagination, then" responded Tails.

"Could be, or it could also be attributed to the fact that _someone_ in our home just happens to have a very big mouth when sleeping," replied Sonic casually, looking at his little friend directly in the eye and silently initiated a staring contest.

A few minutes later, Tails was the first to break the contact and laughed merrily, closing his eyes completely and showing off all of his tiny white teeth in all of their splendor to the world. Sonic smiled an even bigger smile, delighted to see his best friend's rare overt display of emotions.

"Come on, it's not that funny, and you still haven't answered my question yet, kiddo."

"Alright, but, just give me a moment," Tails said after a while, trying to catch his breath. His laughter then died down, yet soft giggles could still be heard coming from the cub.

"Done?" Sonic asked after a while longer. In response, Tails only nodded, hands covering his mouth in an attempt to stifle another incoming bout of laughter.

"So, want an ice-cream?" another nod served as the answer. "Sweet! Eh, no pun intended, but whatever, let's go!"

He crossed the street, and Tails happily tailed his friend.

...

"Pick one, bud, it's on me," Sonic said as he gently pushed Tails forward toward the menu. Said fox, at the nudge, hesitantly approached and then quickly read through the multiple flavors available.

"One mint chocolate chip, please," Tails said at last, "What about you, Sonic?"

"Eh, I'll just have a vanilla, thanks."

"Coming right up!" replied the ice-cream man as he began scoping.

After paying for the treats, the two friends continued their afternoon walk, cones in hands.

"Wait a minute, shouldn't we have lunch first before eating this?" Tails asked all of the sudden, looking actually pensive at the treat he was holding.

"Oh, I don't know, should we?" answered Sonic as he continued licking his own, much to the cub's humor.

"You're strange," Tails said again, a smile already forming on his face, only to get a dismissive wave from the blue hedgehog. "Hey, can we sit down a bit?" asked Tails as he spotted an empty bench nearby.

After that, the two sat down, enjoying their own cones in quiet bliss. While eating, Sonic did the same thing he had been doing since the walk began, keeping an eye out for his young friend. When he saw no potential threats, he glanced at Tails, and was very happy with what he saw.

There the fox was, sitting quietly next to him and happily licking his mint-flavor treat with a satisfied expression on his face.

'_Just like a little kid. I wonder if this is the first time he's ever had one…'_ a stray train of thought entered Sonic's mind uninvited, and his expression became serious momentarily before he chased the thought away, willing himself to focus on the present rather that what had already transpired.

"So, how are you enjoying your day so far?" asked Sonic as he finished the rest of his treat while Tails was still halfway through his.

"Hmm?" the fox turned around and looked at his older friend, who only laughed as he spotted the green smear on the cub's face.

"You are one messy eater, kiddo. Here, let me," said Sonic as he wiped the smear away.

"Thanks. And to answer your question, I'm doing great. This city is amazing with all the technology and the buildings and…"

"Whoa, slow down. Take a breather, will you?" Sonic interjected with another laugh. Tails did just that before continuing.

"Yeah, and you were right, most people don't mind my…" Tails then became silent as he looked down at his dangling feet. Before his friend could say anything, however, the fox shook his head vigorously and resumed.

"My tails…" he quietly added with a tiny smile, seemingly lost in his own world. "It's like nobody cares about them anymore."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Sonic retracted his outstretched arm and leaned back. In a light-hearted tone, he spoke, "That's the city, buddy, one minute everyone's ogling at something, and the next minutes, they'll be like, 'but that's so five minutes ago.' Fickle bunch, really."

"Yeah…" Tails muttered before he continued eating his currently melting ice-cream cone.

A period of silence then followed.

"People really are fickle, huh…" Tails commented off-handedly as he finished the rest of his treat.

"Pardon?" asked Sonic.

"One minute, they want something, and the next, they are over it…Sometimes, it feels like nothing in this world is meant to last forever after all…Things come and go, either ignored or left forgotten as time goes by…"

Frowning slightly, Sonic studied the fox with analytical eyes and an unusually serious expression. Tails was sitting quietly, his head was hung and his eyes downcast. All of those signs pointed toward one thing which Sonic really dreaded – the kid was down, again.

And the hedgehog was not about to let that happen.

Moving closer to the cub, Sonic then reached out and flicked his forehead. The sudden force snapped Tails out of his trance and caused him to look at his friend with eyes as wide as could be and his mouth agape.

Before he could utter anything, Sonic beat him to it.

"Sorry, you were getting too introspective for my taste," he said in a half serious, half joking tone. "But seriously, Tails, you're way too young to be talking about philosophy and how things are all going to disappear and bla bla bla. Instead, here's what you should look at - You're young, you're alive, you're here and so am I. Focus on that."

"…I suppose…" Tails said and looked down again.

Flick.

"Ouch! Stop that!" the fox yelled and rubbed his forehead again while the hedgehog simply leaned back and laughed heartily. "That hurts, you know."

"It's fun to see you riled up every once in a while," Sonic replied with a shrug.

"Well, how do you like it then!" Tails then attempted to get his payback, but due to his short stature, he failed, quite miserably, to reach the hedgehog, who needed only to place one hand on the kid's head to hold him in place, much to the fox's charging.

Sonic only laughed harder at the comically helpless expression on the little one's face before standing up, "So, lunch?"

Tails fixed his hair, yet again, and stared at his friend for a while longer before his face broke into a smile, "Okay! Your treat!"

"Now hold on a minute, here. I never agreed to that" Sonic said, faking an irritated expression.

And Tails, in response, simply laughed.

The two continued their precious down time in the city. All the while, the words that had been spoken with so much sincerity and truth continued to play in Tails' head, making his smile wider. Unconsciously, he began muttering in a soft, whispery tone that even eluded Sonic's sharp hearing.

"I'm young, I'm alive, I'm here…" he paused and looked at the hedgehog's back briefly. "And so is Sonic," he added quietly and picked up the pace to catch up with said hedgehog, who simply smiled and casually threw one hand around the smaller child's shoulder and pulled him closer.

Unbeknownst to both brothers, there was a shadow lurking right behind them, and that person was keeping a very close eye on the older of the two.

"Finally found you, my dear Sonic," said the figure with a smile.

Tightly grasped in the enigma's hand was a Tarot card - The Lovers.

"You're not getting away from me this time," the figure spoke quietly before continuing to stealthily tail the oblivious duo ahead.


	10. Settling In - Chapter 10

Face Thy Fears (Part 4)

"Sonic, may I ask if the food will be ready soon?" Tails whispered sheepishly as he glanced around from where he was currently sitting, fingers nervously fidgeting with his namesakes.

The two friends were presently sitting in a diner named Danny's, waiting for their food to arrive. Tails, per usual, still felt uneasy due to the feelings of curious stares and glances directed at his twin appendages, but thankfully, he was not as jumpy as before.

Unfortunately, that did not mean he was completely okay with having to sit still in one place and listening to the whispers coming from those who were, not so subtly, pointing fingers at him.

This was not an issue when he was outside, because everyone was busy, and he was constantly on the move, so whatever happened, he either did not know or could not bring himself to care much. However, being confined inside the enclosed space limited by the four walls of a diner along with a group of strangers, most of whom seemed to have lots of free time on hand, was a very different story altogether.

"I can feel them talking about me…And from what little I gathered...not good..." Tails lowered his body even more, trying to tuck the twin tails away in vain. His ears were flat against his head in an attempt to block out the murmurs.

Letting out a sigh and feeling nothing but sympathy for his little friend, Sonic patted the fox's trembling fist gently and offered a small smile of comfort.

"Hey, it's okay, just remember, I'm here for you, buddy," Sonic said softly, his gaze sincere and reassuring. "Don't you care about what they are doing, just focus on getting our belly filled and then get out, okay? They'll probably stop any time soon."

He received a weak nod in response, earning an encouraging smile from the hedgehog.

"Speaking of food, here it comes!" Sonic then exclaimed cheerfully, prompting Tails to look up. He then spotted a waitress coming their way, carrying a tray with a bowl of salad, another with a medium-sized steak, two glasses of lemonade and, as a staple in every Sonic's meal, a dish full of chilidogs.

"What's the deal with you and chilidogs anyway?" Tails asked, slightly humored when his friend grabbed the dish of chilidogs before it was even placed on the table.

"Ah, the love of my life, mon ami," replied Sonic, "Now dig in. It's about time we put some food into that tiny body of yours, buddy."

Tails then took one look at everything that was placed in front of him, and his eyes instantly went wide.

"You mean, this is all mine?" he exclaimed, pointing at the food on the table. Sonic, already gulping down his food like it was the last meal he would ever get, swallowed and nodded.

"Yup! And you don't need to clean your plates. Just try to eat as much as you can. We'll take the leftovers home for another day," he then tossed what was left of his second chilidog into his mouth and savored the taste of the treat, humming to himself in satisfaction.

Not another word was uttered from the hedgehog as he reached for and started to gulp down his third chilidog, chewing in bliss.

Tails, hesitantly, reached for his fork and knife and cut a small piece of the steak, all the while trying to ignore the newcomers and their stares. Slowly, he put the tiny piece in his mouth and chewed. As the taste exploded in his mouth, his eyes went wide and Tails chewed even faster, letting out soft hums of appreciation.

"This is good!" he said briefly before cutting a larger piece.

"Of course," Sonic agreed and grinned rather proudly, "I wouldn't settle for anything short of the best for my best pal after all. And nothing quite beats the food at Danny's. Now eat up before we head back."

Not needing further incentives, Tails continued his meal, dining happily and for the first time since coming into the diner, without a care.

"Whoa, slow down, bud," Sonic commented with a chuckle, noting how fast the fox's hands were moving, "The food will still be there when you're done chewing."

"You're one to talk, Sonic," Tails shot back, playfulness apparent in his tone, enticing a laugh from the blue speedster.

"Touché!" said the hedgehog before finishing his fourth chilidog of the day.

The two friends continued to eat in a comfortable silence, not even caring what the other diners were doing. As a result, they also failed to notice that someone else was sitting at a table in the corner, closely studying them from behind the raised menu.

…

"That was delish!" Tails said, patting his belly gently.

"Wow, and here I was hoping I would at least have some leftovers for tomorrow" commented Sonic, faking a disappointed look. Tails simply laughed and responded with a rather good impression of the French accent, "C'est la vie."

"Great, now I have a multilingual and utterly sarcastic fox to deal with. Yay me!" said Sonic playfully, both hands in the air to express his supposed frustration. His antics served to provoke another bout of laughter from Tails, much to his delight. Alright, I would say that's enough for one day, let's head back, shall we?"

Tails agreed, his full tummy made him completely forget about everything else at that moment. Once Sonic had paid for the food, the two left and began their journey home in silence.

It was not until they had reached the entrance to the forest that Tails grabbed Sonic's hand, catching the former's attention.

"What is it?" asked the hedgehog, his voice strangely patient.

"…I just want to say thanks…" Tails mumbled and turned his head away to hide the pronounced blush on his cheeks. "I…I had a great time in the city today…Well, not exactly great, more like bearable."

"That's good to hear," replied Sonic, "And don't you worry your little head too much, pal. A couple more trips like this, and they'll get used to your presence in no time. Trust me, been there done that, and now here I am."

"...Thanks…" Tails said again, glancing sideway at the hedgehog.

He was about to say something else, but whatever was in his mind was lost when his ears picked up a strange rustle a few feet away from their current location.

"Did you hear that?" he asked, turning around to where the source of the noise, prompting Sonic to do the same, albeit in the latter's case, he was slightly confused.

"What is it?" asked Sonic, already stepping in front of Tails and signaling for the fox cub to stand back while exercising extreme caution for any potential threats that might occur.

"I thought I heard something from that bush over there," Tails whispered and pointed at said bush. Mouthing a brief "Stand back" to the fox, Sonic then carefully approached the target. With Tails near, he would not risk anything by moving in recklessly – One incident with a shot down Tornado was more than enough in his book.

"Gotcha!" Sonic suddenly exclaimed when he was close enough, leaping forward in an attempt to capture who or what was lurking in the background. What he did not expect was to be hit, squarely and painfully, in the face by a hammer. The force of the sudden attack even managed to knock him back, but thanks to his well honed reflexes, Sonic was able to land on his feet.

"What in the…" he muttered, faintly registering the fact that Tails was asking if he was alright. Before the hedgehog could run in for a second round, another voice spoke up from behind the bush, stopping both friends instantly in their track.

It was a female voice.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, Sonic, are you alright?" she said, sounding both frantic and concerned at the same time. The moment the new voice was heard, Sonic's eyes shot up momentarily before he let out a groan.

"Great!" he muttered, loud enough for Tails to catch.

"Well, it was partly your fault for suddenly jumping me like that" she continued, this time walking out of her hiding spot completely, sweeping away some stray leaves from her hair and clothes.

"Amy…" Sonic grumbled, rubbing his temple tiredly, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on Little Planet, the place that's, you know, _faraway_?"

"Isn't it obvious, Sonic?" she answered dreamily, and Tails swore he saw her eyes turn heart-shaped, which is scientifically impossible as far as anatomy goes. However, he chose to stay silent to see what kind of relationship his best friend and the pink hedgehog shared.

"I've been looking for you since our fated meeting in Little Planet. After all, we are destined for one another," Amy continued her monologue, completely oblivious to the series of frantic hand gestures Sonic was giving Tails, much to the cub's amusement.

Amy then went on and on about how their meeting was fated to happen while Sonic and Tails quietly made their escape by tiptoeing away from the female.

"Oh, and when you rescued me from that robot and held me in your arms, I could see it clearly, our future together…I've been following your move ever since, and now, I've finally found you, and we can be…where are you going?" It was then that she finally noticed the two's escape attempt, much to Sonic's dismay.

"Look, Amy," he began, "It was nice to see you again, but, uh, we have to go. My little buddy Tails here needs to take his nap…"

"No, I don't…" Tail started, only to get pinched, causing him to yelp out loud, "I mean, sure thing, _Sonic_, _whatever_ you say," he spoke through gritted teeth, a mean glare was subsequently shot at his older friend.

"Oh come on, Sonic, it's been such a long time since we last met, and now, wait a minute, who is your little friend over there?" Amy asked, realizing for the first time that Sonic was not alone.

"My name is Miles, but you could call me Tails, miss Amy," the fox introduced politely, complete with a formal bow of his head. The act alone as well as his shy mannerisms proved too much for Amy to handle, and a moment later, she was instantly overtaken by the child's cuteness and squealed loudly.

The males had to cover their ears to preserve their hearing.

Before either Tails or Sonic could move, the former was tackled by a flash of pink and green. Tails felt he was being squeezed rather tightly, the force of the arms around his body causing him to have some difficulties in breathing.

"Oh, he's the sweetest thing I've ever seen," Amy began, tightening her hug even more, "And look at him, those eyes, those ears, that voice, oh, and those…tails?" she asked, confused at the twin appendages waving back and forth in the air.

Immediately, Tails tensed up in her hold, eyes widened in fear and anticipation for incoming insults.

"Amy…" Sonic warned, a frown already forming, but the addressed did not seem to notice. Instead, she took another moment to study the twin tails in silence, mouth agape and eyes filled with surprise.

Sonic was about to call out again, but Amy beat him to it, letting out another loud squeal, causing the male hedgehog to once again cover his ears.

"Those tails! Oh my gosh, they are so…so…"

"_Freaky? Weird? Abnormal? Freaky?"_ Tails' mind filled in the blank, recalling the numerous degrading terms that he had been subjected to in the past.

"Adorable!" she gasped out. _'Wait, what?' _

Oblivious to the little fox's inner turmoil, Amy continued rambling, "This is the first time I've seen a fox with two tails. They are so positively adorable!"

At that moment, Tails' mind went blank as he looked at the one holding him. Despite the strength she put in her hug, she was not malicious, just a bit excited.

"Oh, my, I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" said Amy again, this time not in the affectionate tone she had been using. Rather, her voice was filled to the brim with worry and fear – for his sake.

"_But what is she worried about?"_ Tails asked mentally before he felt something wet running down his cheeks. Quietly, Tails raised his freed hands and touched them, and only then did he realize he was crying.

"Are you okay…Miles, or Tails or whatever you prefer?" Amy asked, not quite knowing what to do.

"Tails?" this time Sonic chimed in, but unlike Amy, he did not sound frantic. In fact, he sounded somewhat pleased and relieved.

"I…I…I'm okay…" the cub managed to gasp out, voice still shaky and quiet, but there was a small smile present on his lips. "I'm okay..." he said again, louder, effectively quelling Amy's concern as a result.

"Phew, what a relief…I thought I hurt you," she hugged Tails again, but not with as much force as before, "Oh, and by the way, I'm sorry for scaring you, Miles…"

"Please call me Tails, miss. And no, you didn't hurt me. Thank you for your concern and...kindness."

"Good! My name is Amy. Amy Rose. It's a pleasure to meet you. A friend of Sonic is a friend of mine. Who knows, you may go to our marriage one day…" Amy looked at Sonic when she said that, much to the cub's confusion, yet again.

"Okay…That's enough for one day" Sonic chose this moment to cut in, his voice taking on an unusual pitch, before he gently pried Tails away from the female's hold. "Amy, it's nice to see you again, but we have to get going…Like I said, Tails here needs his afternoon nap, so…"

Suddenly, the sky began to turn dark, and a few droplets of rain fell down.

"Great, the one day I didn't check the weather forecast and this happens," mumbled Sonic, irritated.

"Would you like to come to our house for a visit, miss Amy?" Tails spoke up, shocking his best friend into stunned silence almost immediately, "It would be rude to leave you out here in the rain like this."

"Really?" Amy squealed, yet again, and even gave Tails a small peck on the cheek, causing the shy fox to blush madly, his entire face taking on a red hue. "Thank you! I would love to! Oh, you are such a little gentleman, Tails, just like my Sonic here."

In response, Sonic only groaned audibly and deflated. _"Why oh why, Tails?"_ he mentally accused his little friend of having sentenced him to the most horrible torture imaginable. However, when he looked up to face Tails' beaming and almost radiant smile, Sonic, even in his sudden foul mood, could not prevent a small smile to grace his lips at the innocent and broad display of unconcealed joy of the fox child.

"_Oh well, as long as he's happy…"_ he added before shaking his head tiredly and getting ready to go home with a new guest before the rain got heavy.


	11. Settling In - Chapter 11

**Yeash, finally, some moderately good ideas finally came to me. About time. For the last couple of days, I've been struck with a nasty case of writer's block when attempting to write a good chapter about Amy's little visit to Sonic and Tails' house. Well, I'm not entirely sure about the end result, but I did enjoy writing the chapter, so I hope you will enjoy reading it as well.**

**By the way, I would like to thank everyone who has taken their time to visit, favorite, follow and review this story. It means a lot to me. :)**

* * *

Face Thy Fears (Part 5)

Tails and Sonic began to make their way back to their home in the Mystic Ruins, only this time with a sudden yet _invited_ guest coming along, and this guest was very, _very_ insistent on wrapping her arms around Sonic's own, much to the blue hedgehog's annoyance and Tails' absolute amusement at seeing the former's expression.

The sky looked dark like it was about to rain very hard, so they had to move quickly before it did, but at Tails' insistence, "We should go a bit more slowly so that miss Amy is not, oh you know, _accidentally_ left behind," the group moved at a pace that could be classified at normal-quickly instead of Sonic-quickly.

Needless to say, two hedgehogs had expressed very different and contrasting opinions about that suggestion, but since it was clearly two against one, Sonic stood no chance of having things his way. "_Yay me_!" the blue hedgehog thought, sardonic.

In addition, for some reason that had yet to be discovered, Tails somewhat enjoyed walking in the rain, a hobby which was obviously not shared by Sonic at the very least.

At one point, Tails even cast a sideway glance at the hedgehog duo walking next to him and snickered softly into his hand at the blatant exasperation on his best friend's face. A quick glare from said hedgehog effectively caused the fox to turn away, acting all innocent and sweet with big doe eyes and a bright smiling face.

"You've got something you wish to say to me, _buddy_? I'm all ears!" Sonic asked mockingly with an annoyed expression at the blatant pretense of his little buddy, all the while trying and failing to push the weight around his right arm away. If anything, Amy seemed to be encouraged by that and only tightened her hold even more as a result.

"Nope!" replied the fox rather gleefully and with a pop of the 'p' sound as he quickly walked ahead, humming to himself all the way.

Sonic only looked at the kid's unusual cheerful disposition and antics before shaking his head fondly. He secretly let out a chuckle of his own, despite his own predicament at the moment.

'_Haven't seen him that happy before,'_ he thought joyfully and rather fondly as he carefully studied Tails from where he was, silently and meticulously taking in every subtle change in the kid's movements. Every twitch of his fingers, every wave of his namesakes, every prance and skip Tails was making - everything was noticed and carefully noted by the hedgehog, unbeknownst to the cub, of course.

Tails continued to skip ahead, oblivious to the affectionate stare behind him.

After all, the fox's reaction was, in Sonic's opinion, to be expected. In the course of one single afternoon, the kid had suddenly met not one, not two or three for that matter, but a whole lot of people who would not pay any mind to his unique genetic features. Even more impressive was the fact that two among the people he had met in his day out even took the time of their day to actually approach and compliment him - a foreign thought indeed in Tails' head.

'_Amy says she likes my tails,_' the fox child thought again with one of the widest, biggest and most radiant smiles ever present on his face. One of his hands then quickly moved up and wiped away a few stray teardrops that had managed to escape from his moist blue orbs.

Whether the two hedgehogs behind had seen that or not was unclear, for they had made no comment whatsoever regarding the matter.

"I wasn't lying when I said he was adorable, you know," Sonic heard Amy speak beside him, her eyes trained on the cheery yellow creature before her. "But that does make me curious, however, what's he doing with you in the forest at this time of the day? Not that I doubt your abilities to look after him, of course, but he looks so young, so surely his parents must be really worried about him by now."

Sonic looked at Amy's questioning eyes with narrowed emerald orbs for a brief while before letting out a long sigh. It took no word for Amy to realize what was being conveyed. With an understanding nod, Amy instantly understood the gesture and did not speak about that again.

After all, there are things in life that can only be recognized, understood and sympathized among those are in similar situations, even if those things are only spotted at first glance. _'Poor kid…'_ Amy only thought with a sad frown on her face as her eyes trained on the young cub.

They three continued their trip home, picking up the pace a bit the moment the rain became heavy.

…

"Finally!" Sonic exclaimed as he dried himself off, shivering a little as the lingering droplets ran down his arms. They had managed to make it back to their destination before it rained harder, albeit barely due to their travel speed. Unfortunately, barely was not exactly soon enough for Sonic, who was still sopmewhat drenched by the sudden downpour, much to his dismay.

"For the record and future references, _me_, _water_, and _slow_ are no amigos!" he spoke up when he was done drying his quills and at the same time shot Tails a look.

"Oh come on, Sonic" the fox reasoned as he gestured toward Amy, who was also drying herself with a given blanket as well, "You know that miss Amy can't run as fast as you or me, so we had to go at a _slightly," _Tails put two fingers together as he spoke, leaving only a very small distance between the two for emphasis, "slower pace so she's not left behind alone in the forest. She did say she's new here, after all."

"Daw! How thoughtful of you, Tails," Amy said with another squeal and another peck to the cub's cheek, "Thank you for worrying about me. And please, drop the miss. It makes me sound old," she paused momentarily before a mischievous look took over her face - one that Sonic did not approve of.

"Unless," Amy spoke again after a short pause, looking at Tails with a very convincing frown on her face. Tails tensed up and grew sheepish almost instantly at that sight.

"You really think I'm old, don't you, Tails?" Amy continued, oblivious to the change in the fox's body language in her current jesting mood, "Now, I really resent that, you know. I really, _really_ hate it when people say something rude like that, and I certainly _don't_ like those who are rude, either," Amy finished her sentence with a mock huff, one which, like the previous gesture, appeared very real in Tails' eyes.

She had obviously meant what she said as a casual joke - a fact which anyone with a proper upbringing and common sense could easily pick up without even trying. Unfortunately, Tails did not exactly belong to a category of a normal case, and to Amy's greatest surprise and Sonic's dread made real, the fox's eyes quickly opened wide seconds later, for he had taken that jest very seriously and literally – down to the letter.

One in particular was registered exponentially more clearly than the rest in his ears - _hate_.

Amy hated him for being rude, as a voice in his mind whispered, repeatedly.

And hate, to Tails, was synonymous with hurt.

And thus, unbidden, the floodgate was opened by accident, but the effect was no less devastating.

Recognizing the symptoms almost immediately, Sonic made a move to react, but before he could get near, Tails' fear had already wrapped around the child's head and left him shaken, curled up on the couch, his twin tails embracing his shaking frame in the all-too-familiar fashion that the hedgehog knew and resented.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." the fox suddenly apologized with eyes filled with dread."I'm sorry for being rude to you miss - I mean, Amy. I swear I didn't mean anything…I…I swear…I didn't mean to...offend...Please..." Tails suddenly began to stammer frantically, his eyes wide with fear and his gestures hysteric at the thought that he had indirectly insulted the female and caused her to hate him as consequence.

"_Please don't hate me.._." his mind silently added the desperate plea that had gone unsaid.

Tails' breathing had become quick and shallow.

At the face of Tails' upset and strange behavior, both hedgehogs immediately rushed to his side. Amy, of course, was confused, but Sonic, on the other hand, was filled with concern and dread for his young's friend's wellbeing.

"Breathe, kid!" Sonic ordered sharply, shaking his little friend in an attempt to snap him back to reality.

"Tails?" Amy asked, concerned by the unusual change in the fox's behavior at one simple tease. "It's okay. It was a joke, just a joke. Honest! I'm not offended by it at all. Please calm down!"

"I-I…sorry…Please..." Tails continued to stammer out, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings.

"No, no need to apologize, Tails" Amy quickly reassured in panic, "If anyone has to apologize, it's me for upsetting you. I'm sorry, Tails. Really. I didn't mean to. Please calm down and snap out of it."

Her heartfelt shout did the trick. Hesitantly, two widened blue eyes looked at her, shining with a whirlpool of emotions.

"...You…you don't hate me?" Tails spoke up, his voice soft and cracked, reminding the pink hedgehog of something so delicate and fragile that one single wrong touch could shatter it into millions of pieces.

"No, I don't hate you, not at all!" Amy spoke up at last after she was done pressing down the sudden feeling of having something stuck at her throat. For good measures, the hedgehog even offered a shaky, small but kind smile at the younger child and soothingly patted his head.

The motions coupled with Sonic whispering words of reassurances on his side finally managed to produce the desirable effect of calming down the distressed child, and his shaking was reduced immensely a few minutes later.

"I'm not...hated...Good...That's good then…" Tails, with a relieved sigh, muttered mostly to himself after studying her eyes and finding nothing but honesty and sincerity in those orbs.

Both Sonic and Amy could see that it was just the fox trying to convince himself of something that he was still pretty much doubtful of, but at that moment, they were more relieved by the fact that Tails was breathing normally than to point that out.

"...I'll get something for you to drink, so wait here, okay bud? Amy, I could use a hand, if you don't mind," Sonic said, gesturing for Amy to come with him and give Tails some much-needed space.

"...No, she's a guest...It'd be rude to...I should…" Tails started to protest weakly, but was instantly silenced.

"That's okay, I don't mind at all, Tails. Just stay here okay? Besides, I can make you a nice cup of coco as apology for hurting your feelings. How does that sound?" she offered with another strained smile, expectant and hopeful.

Tails looked at Sonic for a while, and the latter only shrugged. After having an internal debate for a few seconds, Tails finally looked up and hesitantly nodded, muttering a soft and polite "Thank you" to the female, who only nodded in response.

…

"Don't ever, and I mean, _ever_ do something like that again!" Sonic said with a strangely stern tone and an equally serious face the moment he and Amy were out of the fox's earshot. That was a side of him that Amy had never before experienced, and if she were truly honest with herself at that moment, she was very unnerved by the intensity of those darkened emerald eyes glaring at her.

"...I'm sorry," Amy muttered sheepishly and guiltily, feeling she deserved it for upsetting Sonic's friend, and a child no less. "It only meant to tease him a little because he was so adorable…but I never thought it would make him like that…"

Sonic only stood still and studied the female hedgehog. Though she was a bit strange, she was, as he had learnt from their initial encounter and the way she was comfortable around Tails and vice versa, Sonic knew she was a good person in essence and at heart.

A little bizarre and crazy at times, but good nonetheless.

With a heavy sigh and a shake of his head to cool down, Sonic spoke again, his voice low.

"No, I'm sorry for my temper. I know you didn't mean that, so technically, it wasn't entirely your fault, I suppose. You did get him to calm down, so thanks for that. Just…just don't tease him too much and say you hate him, even if it's meant as a joke or spoken indirectly. Tails, he's had it rough and frankly, he doesn't deserve to hear those words. Tails is still a kid, and he's very sensitive to how people feel about him," Silently, he mentally added, _"Besides, poor kid's probably heard enough ridicules to last a life time already."_

"…I'm sorry" Amy whispered sadly again as she made the coco like she had promised.

"I said it's fine, so forget about it already," the blue hedgehog replied and offered Amy a small reassuring smile, "Come on, let's hurry up before the drinks go cold."

Amy only nodded and silently followed Sonic into the living room again.

…

When they walked into the living room, Sonic and Amy saw that Tails was mindlessly flipping through the channels, his face completely blank and his eyes unfocused. In fact, the fox did not seem like he heard the two hedgehogs entering at all.

Only when Sonic let out a soft cough did the fox turn around and look at the pair.

"I have your favorite mints, buddy," Sonic said with a cheery grin, holding the treats out expectantly before he approached and sat next to the fox.

"…Thank you," Tails replied briefly before he took a candy and very politely placed the treat in his mouth. He even made sure to cover his mouth while he chewed and avoided making too much noise in the process. A fact that did not escape the perceptive hedgehogs.

Amy took a moment to study the sudden change in the child's behavior. The Tails sitting right in front of her in Sonic's house was definitely not the same playful, prancing Tails she had seen during their short forest run. To her, the current Tails looked like he was trying really hard to be polite with every gesture and every word that came out of his mouth, like he was trying to please and gain someone's favor.

Her favor – she soon realized as the joke returned once more with perfect clarity, haunting her mind, _"I really hate it when people say something rude like that, and I certainly don't like those who are rude, either_," she had said and it had been wrongly interpreted by the young cub.

With a soft sigh and a strained smile, Amy the put the cup of hot coco down before Tails and looked at him with sad, guilty eyes.

"Hey, Tails, like I promised, here's my homemade coco, it's my secret recipe. It's good, I promise!" she began, keeping her voice barely above a whisper. Amy could not stand the sight of a sad person, and more so if that person happened to be a child who seemed to carry a big burden in his heart.

Or at the very least, that was what her fortune teller's intuition told her when she looked at him.

"Thank you…Amy…" Tails spoke up once more, still in the same hushed tone and reserved mannerism.

"...You know, Tails, you don't need to be so formal around me like that. Just talk to me like you would Sonic. It's okay, I'm not offended in the slightest, I promise."

"I…I don't want to be rude again…" Tails replied softly before growing silent altogether. Sonic, however, could figure out the words left unsaid, and he grimaced.

"Hey, buddy, you're not," the blue hedgehog spoke up, placing one hand on Tails' head, "In fact, you're the most courteous and well-mannered kid I've ever met."

"Yes, that's right, Tails," Amy hastily agreed, "If anything, I was the one who was rude, and now I hate myself for hurting your feelings, but you need to know that you are not. From what little I've seen, you are one of the sweetest boys I've ever encountered."

Tails sat still in his seat, quiet and pensive.

"Could you forgive me?" Amy asked again after a moment of eerie silence. This time, for sincerity, the girl even attempted to bow her head. However, she was interrupted before she could.

"No, no, there's no need to bow to me, mi…I mean Amy," Tails quickly spoke up as he realized what his new acquaintance was about to do, effectively stopping her midway. "It's okay, I'm not really angry at you or anything for that matter…"

"Really?" she asked, hopeful and concerned at the same time, "Then, why are you so sad if you're not hurt by what I said?"

"…It's nothing special, actually," Tails replied as he picked up the steaming cup of coco and took a sip. "I just remembered some unpleasant things, that's all. It's not your fault, Amy, and there's nothing to forgive," He took another sip, missing the heartfelt look on Amy's face.

He did not fail to notice the same expression coming from Sonic, however.

"Anyway," Tails spoke up and put the cup down, trying to break the uncomfortable silence and at the same time get the spotlight away from himself as well, "I've been meaning to ask. How did the two of you meet, exactly? That is, if you don't mind me asking," he quickly added at the end.

Sonic and Amy studied at the cub and each other for a while before the former spoke up.

"Well, that's quite a long story, actually," Sonic began.

"Oh, I can remember every little detail of that day like everything just happened yesterday," Amy quickly took over and spoke in a dreamy, yet slightly forced tone, eyes half-closed in reminiscence.

"There I was, minding my own business, and then, out of nowhere, these mean-looking robots attacked me and destroyed the city. There were flames everywhere as far as the eyes could see and explosions as far as my ears could hear. I was running for my life as the pillars began to fall down and the ground beneath me tore open. In truth, it was scary, the scariest moment of my life. I remember one pillar in particular was about to fall down on me, but then, the most amazing thing happened…"

"Long story short," Sonic cut in quickly to prevent the pink hedgehog from talking their ears off with her details, "I saved her, then her home world, a place called Little Planet by the way. And in the end, I threw an epic curve ball at Eggman's butt. End of story."

Sonic then noticed a not-so-friendly look from Amy, and he backed away.

"Hey, just being concise here for the kid's sake," he said with a shrug, and the pink hedgehog huffed in response.

"What?" asked the blue hedgehog, hands thrown up in the air. "You were giving too much unnecessary info. I gave him the main idea in one go."

"You've no sense of finesse at all, Sonic the hedgehog," Amy replied with a huff and turned away with both arms crossed.

"What is this 'finesse' you're talking about?"

"When telling a story, one must be able to captivate and engage the listeners with a logical series of events leading toward the climax. Also, it's important to be slow and meticulous in your narrative to help establish and foster interest in the listeners before slowly drawing them in and helping them become one with the story. Storytelling is an art form, you know" Amy said.

"So is summarizing everything in one sentence," was the comeback Sonic gave Amy, "Just saying," he added with a shrug.

It was then that both hedgehogs noticed a faint sound of stifled snickers in the room. Immediately, both Sonic and Amy directed their eyes at Tails, who was clearly trying really hard not to make a sound, but, obviously, failing.

"What?" both hedgehogs asked simultaneously.

"I'm sorry, but you two are pretty funny, you know that. In fact, the way you're acting right now is like a married couple I normally see on TV or something like that," Tails said, humored, and instantly, both sets of emerald eyes opened widely – one from shock and while the other in heavenly bliss.

"Tails!" exclaimed both Amy and Sonic at the same time, much to the cub's amusement yet again. "Don't say that!" they said again, also at the exact same time, with Sonic being exasperated and Amy being…Amy.

The pink hedgehog turned away to hide her developing blush and quickly lost herself in her daydream about that possible future, all the while eliciting weird and bizarre noises. Sonic, on the other hand, quickly stood up and looked at the laughing fox.

"Oh, you'd better run, pom-pom butt!"

Sonic then set out to chase down a certain fleeing two-tailed fox all around the house and, after a few minutes, throughout the entire hill and, subsequently, the entire Mystic Ruins as a whole. And it was not a short chase, either.

By the time everything had settled down and Sonic had returned from his unplanned excursion with a subdued and pouty fox tightly secured in his arm, the sun had already set and night had descended.

"For the record, I let you win this round," Tails said as he was being manhandled by his best friend, the childish pout never once faltering or leaving his face.

"Sure, Mr. Generous, just keep telling yourself that," Sonic simply replied with an amused chuckle at that.

It had been a great run for both friends, and by the time they got back to their humble abode, both were more or less exhausted, both physically and mentally, from the day's events.

To their surprise, however, when they finally walked through the door, Tails and Sonic learned that Amy had singlehandedly cooked them the biggest, grandest and most extravagant feast consisting of various delicacies as an apology to Tails and a thank you for inviting her over.

"Dig in, boys, I made plenty, and don't worry, I used the ingredients I have with me. You two should really stock more veggies in that fridge, you know," she said with a mock angry look.

They did not need to be told twice.

…

"Thanks Amy," Sonic spoke up once he was finished with his own food, patting his bloated belly gently in great satisfaction, "If the fortune telling thing doesn't work out, you should seriously find work as a chef or something."

The pink hedgehog was on cloud nine upon hearing that comment, and needless to say, both males were forced to cover their ears – again.

"Well, ahem," she managed to recompose herself after a while, "Thank you for your compliments, gentlemen. I had a good time today, and since it's already dark outside, I guess I'll see you two later, huh," Amy said as she stood up and got ready to depart.

"Well, since it's already dark outside," Tails spoke up as he looked outside before he shot Sonic an extraordinarily sly look, complete with a sinister grin and a pair of narrowed blue eyes shining with unconcealed mischief, much to the blue hedgehog's terror.

"Don't you dare…" Sonic, immediately recognizing a nasty attempt at revenge, narrowed his own eyes threateningly at the cub and slowly mouthed his warning, but was promptly ignored.

"Would you like to stay the night, Amy?" Tails continued, looking at the pink hedgehog earnestly, "It's dangerous to walk around the forest in the dark, after all. Surely no gentleman would allow that to happen. Isn't that right, _Sonic_?" the final sound was especially stressed, making the addressed flinch.

"You want me to stay the night?" Amy looked at Tails with wide eyes, who simply smiled back and nodded.

"Will you?" Tails asked, trying not to laugh at the way Sonic was putting his hands together and silently praying to whatever higher being above to grant his humble request.

The result was obvious of course, as if already dictated and predetermined by fate beforehand.

"Of course!" another deafening squeal was heard afterward, which could possibly be heard from miles away, followed by another reverberating yell of the twin-tailed child's name along with a burst of hysteric laughter shortly afterward.

That night, no organic being was successful at catching even a wink of sleep inside - and outside - the house atop the Mystic Ruins as they chased each other around.


	12. Settling In - Extra

**Note: Yeah...In actuality, I really have nothing fancy to say about this short bonus chapter. The idea just sort of, well, suddenly pops into my mind out of nowhere, and it won't leave me alone, so I figure I'll just write it down here since I have pretty much finished all of my essays in university (Yay me!). I hope you'll enjoy it. Oh, and before I forget completely, please note that this short incident takes place way, _way_ before 'Face thy Fears.'**

**Last but most certainly not least, I would like to express my gratitude and thank everyone who has read this story. Your reviews really make my day much brighter. **

"It's good to fight with your brothers, and it's good to tease them to give them advice." - Malala Yousafzai

* * *

Bonus Chapter: Trick of the Wind

Tails frowned, unable to shake off the strange sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that something felt rather odd. It was not rational, he realized that quickly, for everything about the living room was nothing out of the ordinary - of that fact he was certain. Every piece of furniture was in their usual positions.

The only difference he could spot was the open windows, but that was pretty normal as well.

"Trust me, pal. The weather here at this time around is pretty nice, and the occasional gusts of wind are pretty comfortable as well, so it'd be a great shame not to let the cool breezes into the house, don't you think?" Sonic had said to him a few minutes earlier, with his usual smirk no less.

After looking at everything inside the cozy living area over and over again, Tails had at last come to the conclusion that nothing was out of place.

And yet, Tails could not help but allow the pensive and somewhat doubtful frown to take over his facial features. Every single one of his instincts was urgently telling him otherwise as he directed his gaze at the stacks of cards placed before the slyly smirking blue hedgehog he lived with, whom he really hated at this particular moment for a very good reason.

Annoyed, Tails reached out and drew one card from the tiny pool in the middle of the table and begrudgingly placed it in his hand.

"Are you sure you're not cheating me?" Tails asked again, feeling his annoyance hit a new peak as Sonic's grin grew even larger, taunting him.

"What?" the blue hedgehog asked, faking a pretty convincing scandalized look, complete with his mouth hanging open, one hand directly placed on his heart and a sharp intake of breath. "I'm shocked that you would even suggest something like that, little buddy. Look into my eyes and see for yourself."

The humor radiating from his eyes, as Tails could see from his side of the table, seemed to point toward the contrary. In response to the hedgehog's statement, the fox child only huffed before he looked down and focused his attention on the pieces of paper he was holding in his hands. His eyes were trained on the objects with unwavering concentration, silently deciding on the next rank to call out when his turn came.

A gentle gust of wind blew in and tenderly touched the fox, rustling his fur a bit, but in his moment of intense and undivided concentration, Tails paid it no mind as he continued on with the complex calculations in his head.

"My turn, kiddo," Sonic spoke up with a snicker, shattering his focus and catching his attention at last. "You have any jacks?" Sonic added, shooting his best friend yet another mirthful grin, much to the latter's utter shock, which soon turned into irritation.

Silence took reign for a while as Tails momentarily looked between the cards he was holding and the currently conceited-looking hedgehog multiple times before shooting the latter a very mean look.

"That is it! You're definitely cheating somehow! I don't know how you always seem to know exactly what I have on hand, but I know for a fact that that's not normal!" Tails said with a low voice, and in reply, Sonic simply shrugged dismissively, looking all innocent behind big doe eyes and a smile so wide that it must have hurt his cheeks.

Begrudgingly, Tails mumbled something else incoherent under his breath before taking out two of his cards, a Jack of Hearts and a Jack of Diamonds, to give it to his condescending friend.

"Woohoo! Hit the road Jack!" exclaimed Sonic as he dramatically threw down the two remaining ranks he had on his hand, effectively adding another book to his already impressive collection. "In your face, Tails! In. Your. Face!"

Tails could only glare in helplessness at Sonic's infuriating smirking face before his gaze was directed at the pathetically few books of cards before him.

"This game is stupid!" said the fox with both arms crossed in front of his chest, his face set in a childish indignant pout. Sonic found that expression funny in an adorable way.

"Nuh-uh, buddy," said Sonic as he looked at his cards, "It's not stupid. You just need to _carefully look around, know what's been said and done_ and _know what to look for," _Sonic paused briefly for dramatic effect before resuming his turn, "By the way, got any nines?"

"Argh! I give up!" Tails slammed the rest of his cards down and promptly stomped away toward the kitchen area, the same childish pout never once leaving his face. "Oh, and just so you know, I'm taking the last chilidog in the fridge," he declared with finality.

Back at the table, Sonic only sat still and looked at the retreating fox with an amused expression on his face. Unbeknownst to Tails, the hedgehog was even hiding a large, mischievous grin behind the cards he was holding.

Letting out a string of soft chuckles and collecting the cards scattered on the table, Sonic then looked at the open window, humor and amusement shining radiantly in his emerald eyes. Before him, the sky looked clear and blue, its natural beauty seemingly uncontaminated and untainted, as it seemed to stretch on and on forever in the eyes of the beholder. Outside, the weather was absolutely beautiful, as it always is at this certain time in the Mystic Ruins, just as Sonic had claimed before his little game with Tails began. However, unbeknownst to the cub, one thing was not.

It was a windless day.

"Oh Tails," Sonic snickered again as the memory of Tails' humorous indignant expression popped into his mind again. He could not help but snicker privately to himself as he shuffled the whole deck of cards.

"Tails, Tails, Tails. You seriously need to learn how to pay more attention to your surroundings, even when you already have your mind set on one particular objective ahead, kiddo..." muttered the Blue Wind with a not so subtle hint of humor mixed in his light-hearted tone as he placed the deck back in its original position. However, his relaxed and cheerful face soon turned neutral only seconds later, and even his signature smirk disappeared.

"...Even more so when you're around me..." his voice now a whisper and his face an expression of sudden seriousness.

Wordlessly, Sonic turned his head away from the deck and looked out at the open, windless area outside the house once more. His emerald eyes were directed at the vast and peaceful blue sky high above with a faraway look in them.

"...Otherwise...it's game over..."


	13. Settling In - Chapter 12

**Hello there, everyone...Well, it is rather awkward to suddenly pop up out of nowhere after weeks of no update and no status whatsoever. I do apologize for the lack of updates. University equals no summer vacation, so I'm currently busy with school and part time job and everything in between. That and the fact that I'm concentrating my attention on the Pokemon fanfic I'm currently writing, and boy, it's longer than expected. As a result, I have been forced to neglect this story for a while. **

**In any case, this is the latest installment of the collection of shorts, and this is the best I can do right now. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Happy reading, folks. :) **

* * *

**Prompt:** Sonic is a good friend and a very good brother to Tails. However, his responsibilities are more than just being a friend to the orphaned fox child. At first, the inexperienced and young hedgehog is not exactly a good guardian to a young and traumatized Tails. Well, he has got to learn that hurtful truth at some point, and here is how.

* * *

Chapter 12: Lost and Found (part 1)

To say that Tails was nervous at this exact moment in time would perhaps be the world's biggest understatement ever made. _Nervous_ did not even begin to describe, not even the smallest of fraction, the raging whirlpool of mixed emotions within the young fox's mind in this particular predicament he had somehow managed to find himself in.

Afraid? Too soft a word.

Scared? Good choice, slightly better than the previous ones, but sadly not quite there yet.

Anxious? Distressed? Distraught? Perhaps, but perhaps the state of the young cub's current state of mind would most befittingly and wholly described as a combination of all of the aforementioned emotions, all of which were then to be exponentially intensified by a hundred times further.

That should suffice, for that was, in all probability, how the young and trembling Tails was experiencing as he stood, eyes widened and fists curled into tight balls, underneath a small shade in a very crowded place filled with people of all ages and classes.

It was a dreadfully familiar scenario that had haunted his mind for years, and now, that same scenario was playing out again, only this time, not in his dream or nightmare, but in his reality.

Quickly darting his sapphire orbs around in a frantic manner, Tails quickly looked for, or at the very least attempted to look for the sight of a certain hedgehog of blue amidst the incredible crowd of colors around him. To his dismay, he saw lots of blue hues in sight, but none of them belonged to the one single being he was hoping for.

Abandoned – another one to add to the list that made up the whirlwind of emotions he was feeling at the moment.

With an audible sigh, Tails clasped both of his hands together and held them in front of his chest self-consciously, wishing that his body would disappear on the spot as he felt the occasional yet pointing stares thrown his way from the people that were walking by. His unease only seemed to grow when even the children were pointing at him and saying some things he could not quite catch to their parents and siblings nearby.

Oh the cruel and mocking snickers and laughter – those were probably among the most dreadful things that Tails was being put through at the moment, alongside the rapidly emerging and haunting fragments of his past.

The laughs and snorts and sneers that quickly were directed at his direction by the random passers-by were more than enough to get him shaking as an old and very familiar sense of dread and terror slowly crept back into his mind, taunting him and reconsolidating all of the awful fears he assumed he had at last managed to overcome a few days ago.

Apparently, he was proven wrong, as those fears now returned with a vengeance, gripping and trapping his rationality within a tight iron fist and seemingly numbing all of his ability to think clearly. Even moving at that moment proved difficult, and as a result, Tails nervously stood still where he was, alone underneath a random umbrella within the enormous Twinkle Park, his twin namesakes tugged behind in vain to stay out of the visions of the curious and less-than-amiable passers-by.

"How did it come to this?" Tails muttered with his head hung low to avoid the gazes of others, his voice soft and barely above the level of a whisper, easily drowned within the conglomeration of indiscernible noises of chatters around him.

"How did this happen to me?" he asked again, as if convincing himself that there would be an answer.

"I don't want to be alone…Help…Sonic…Where are you?" muttered the fox, his voice now rather shaky as he looked around once more for the hedgehog. However, he was set up for yet another disappointment, for Sonic was still nowhere in sight. "Help me…I'm scared…I don't want to be alone…"

…

It had all started about two hours ago on a fine, sunny weekend.

"Tickle what?" Tails had asked, his head tilted slightly and one questioning eye ridge raised in curiosity while looking straight into the amused expression on Sonic's face. The hedgehog, at that time, had seemed to be trying hard not to burst out laughing at the fox's expression.

"No, kiddo," Sonic swiftly replied with a smirk, showing Tails a pair of tickets to some sort of amusement park in the city. "Twinkle," he stressed before continuing, "Twinkle Park. It's one of Station Square's most famous attractions, and on weekends, like today for example, there are various special offers and discounts for the rides there. Trust me, the coasters there are the best, and I hear today, there are going to be new rides added as well. Isn't it exciting?" Sonic finished with an excited face, trying to appear cheerful in hope of transferring some of the enthusiasm into his younger friend.

Tails, however, had only stared at his best friend in silence and skepticism.

"Uh-huh…" Tails slowly replied, voice calculating and filled with uncertainty, "And what does this have to do with me?"

Letting out a sigh upon realizing that he could not excite this particular child by acting eager alone, Sonic then decided to come clean and spell out his intention for the cub.

"What I'm trying to say is," Sonic began once more, gathering his breath for a dramatic effect, "Would you like to come with me to Twinkle Park today?"

Tails was downright surprised by the sudden offer, and as to be expected, a little anxious as well.

Such feelings were not exactly unfounded, however. After all, Tails had only been to the city only once, and he had never taken a second trip ever since that first time. Even though he was, admittedly, more open-minded about appearing in public as long as Sonic would be by his side, in this specific situation, the young child felt a sudden sense of dread creeping up and down his spine at this sudden invitation, but he could not quite point out why or where such a sensation came from.

Perhaps it was just the weather, as he had tried to convince himself, but Tails was unsure about this whole thing.

"Why?" Tails asked, "What's the occasion?"

"Do I need a special reason to hang out with my best friend?" Sonic replied almost instantly with a wide and inviting grin, acting like he had not seen the waves of emotions and doubt flashing in the child's eyes for a few seconds. "I think you'll like this one, buddy. After all, have you ever been to an amusement park before?"

Tails looked down immediately after that question and tried to rack his brain for anything remotely resembling a theme park, but to his disappointment, he found none in his memory bank. In actuality, the closest memory regarding a place similar to a theme park was standing outside the entrance to a small local fair back on Cocoa Island. Unfortunately, no money meant no entry.

"…No…" Tails said softly and looked away, ears bent somewhat in shame at the answer. Sonic noticed that, but still, he opted not to make any remark and make the cub's mood descend any further.

"Well, today's your lucky day then," the hedgehog exclaimed loudly as he flopped down next to his friend and casually threw a hand over the latter's shoulder to pull him into a side hug. "Welcome to Fun Ville, and I'll be your humble guide. Trust me, pal. Twinkle Park is fun, I went there once a few years ago, and I enjoyed it. Now, there are new attractions there, and they all look amazing from what little I've seen."

"…I don't know about this," Tails said sheepishly, feeling the uneasy feeling inside his heart growing stronger. "I mean, today is Saturday, so there will obviously be people and families, and…lots of people…" he finished lamely, voice dropping toward the end.

"Come on, Tails," Sonic spoke up again, his voice soft and sincere and a little hopeful, but there was absolutely no pressure added so that Tails would not feel obligated to accommodate his wish. After all, Sonic only wanted to invite the kid, not coerce him into this trip, "I want you to have some fun. You're still young, and it's a waste of time to just sit inside the house all the time. It's a fine day, and I want to spend it with my best friend," he said.

In response, Tails stayed silent, finding the act of fiddling with his namesakes to be more interesting than meeting the hedgehog's gaze. After careful consideration, however, Tails finally decided that it would be fine to just go out again, promptly pushing back the nagging feeling of anxiety to the back of his mind for the time being.

"…Promise you'll be with me?" the fox mumbled with much hesitation, and Sonic could feel the muscles of the young cub tense as he spoke those words. With a smile filled with nothing but sincerity and honesty, the hedgehog patted Tails' head affectionately and spoke in a voice that was soft and yet filled with absolute conviction, "Promise!"

It was then that Tails finally turned around and looked at Sonic, and after a few seconds of studying the other's face, the younger cub finally allowed a small smile to form on his face.

At that time, little did they know this trip would be one incredible and thrilling play day to remember, probably for the rest of their lives.

…

"And of course this has to happen," Tails mumbled under his breath and made sure to keep his head low to prevent from having to meet the eyes of another crowd of visitors.

Everything had started out normally after the short persuasion session, after which Tails had agreed to accompany Sonic's on his journey to Twinkle Park, albeit with much hesitation on his part and no small amount of efforts of constant cheering and encouragement on the other's.

Upon getting inside, Sonic and Tails had managed to have some time to experience the joy and magic of some of the less crowded attractions in the park, and Tails, despite his initial resistance and reluctance to the idea, had suddenly found himself enjoying each and every single one of them.

After all, it was his very first time visiting such a place, and as to be expected, Tails had no idea what to hope for, and upon trying out a few rides, whatever expectations he had formed in his head had been exceeded by a very far margin.

Never before had the fox child been given the chance to blast balloons with water guns or display his amazing and almost incredible precision at the shooting gallery in public. And to Sonic's unconcealed amazement, the proud and cocky hedgehog had actually been bested, defeated, utterly and totally annihilated after challenging the cub to a shooting competition.

Tails' skills and marksmanship had proven to be so extraordinarily exceptional that after winning his third consecutive prize – a huge teddy bear – he and Sonic had been publically banned from reentering the game by the fretful booth owners.

"You really rocked those guns back there, buddy," Sonic had said, patting him on the back and beaming with pride as they were walking away from the booth, their prizes given to some smaller and more excitable kids back at the gallery. Tails, being the humble and shy cub he was, had replied with a muffled, "It's just calculation and trajectory and all…Once you have the necessary calculations done, everyone can beat those games." His reply, naturally, had earned him another proud pet on the head by a very amused and impressed speedster.

As time gone by, the two had taken their time to thoroughly and meticulously explore the other attractions in the place, and needless to say, Tails had been greatly and continuously impressed by the amount of fun and excitement in the air.

Whether it was the act of silently feeling the wind blowing through your hair when seated in a thrilling rollercoaster ride, experiencing the unprecedented combination of anticipation and thrills of being shot up toward the sky at high speed or gleefully dunking a man into a tub filled with water without fear of retribution among many others, Tails had been greatly amazed by everything – A fact that Sonic had mentally noted with an enormous amount of pleasure on his own at the once neglected cub's smiling face.

Looking at Tails at those moments when he had walked up to the Ferris wheel or when the cub had so excitedly and enthusiastically talked nonstop about how amazing the sights had been from the air high above with a radiant smile on his face, Sonic had seen not the sight of a shy, trembling and reserved boy, scared and easily spooked by practically everything around him. Instead, the hedgehog had seen a boy – a real boy - having fun in a theme park with his best friend.

Unfortunately, all good things are, as if dictated by the laws of nature or predetermined by forces unseen, never meant to last long, and soon, the fun-filled play date had quickly turned horrid and maybe even traumatizing for the cub when Sonic had taken him to lunch shortly after the latest rollercoaster ride.

"Let's go over there!" Sonic had exclaimed and led Tails toward a diner a little distance away.

Despite his best effort to hold on to Tails' hands, his grip had been slackened and soon, to both friends' horror, completely broken by a huge stream of people coming in toward the same vendor for some midday nourishments.

As a result, the two had been swept away by the relentless crowd, with Tails and Sonic being forcibly separated and literally washed away by the stream in different directions.

"Tails!"

"Sonic!" Tails had cried out and reached for the hedgehog, but much to his dismay, Sonic had vanished, lost amidst the sea of people and anthropomorphic creatures alike, and his voice, despite being produced at the loudest possible volume he had been able to, had regrettably been silenced by the excited shouts and screams of the hungry park patrons.

Tails had, like any kids of his age when separated from their guardian or relative without proper instructions on how to react, quickly descended to panic and tried to run around to search for a way to get past the crowd of people. Unfortunately, when he had managed to do just that and successfully navigated his way to the other side about twenty minutes later, Sonic was nowhere to be found.

His panic then increased tenfold, and as a consequence, his judgment had been negatively affected. Tails had unwisely run off in an attempt to search for the hedgehog on his own, not knowing that had he stayed behind for one more minute, Sonic would have been able to locate him.

Thus, the misfortune had at last led to the current predicament of Tails standing forlornly and dejectedly underneath a small area of shade provided by an umbrella after about an hour of fruitless searching, his head down and his stomach rumbling from the lack of nourishments in his system.

"What do I do?" Tails asked himself and sighed, "I don't know what to do in this situation…Should I leave and go home first? Or maybe I can fly up…No…No flying…" Tails added quickly as he darted his eyes around, anxiety and nervousness flashing in his sapphire orbs.

If standing alone already earned him enough ridicule for his liking, he dared not think what flying could do, and Tails, having been so very deeply traumatized and scarred by all of his past experiences in his previous home, shivered at the thought of being stared by the curious and prejudicial gazes of the park visitors when he was airborne.

"No…please no…" Tails muttered, his mouth covered by shaky hands as he fought to keep the memories from resurfacing and overriding his mind. Using some breathing method he had managed to learn a while back, Tails began and as time passed, he managed to calm himself down somewhat.

"Sonic…Where are you…You promised…"

Tails was very afraid of being still, which would explain why he would always try to do something – fixing things, reading books, anything he could think of.

Because he was afraid.

Tails, unbeknownst to Sonic, was greatly afraid of staying still and having nothing to do, for when that happened, his mind had a nasty tendency to wander. And the places his ever active mind would travel to were mainly those he would not wish to relive. Unfortunately, at this exact moment, his mind was doing just that, feeding the lonely and scared fox images and fragmented memories of the time long past.

The time when he had been alone, hurt and lost.

And as the present continued to move forward, his mind reversely moved further back to a time when he had even been hunted down and chased after like a prey, and around him, images of blazing seas of flames and blasts of deafening explosions raged on. Blurry pictures of heavy machines and weapons then began to emerge.

Tails lost track of the time, too occupied by the dreadful images of his life as well as the mix of emotions raging inside his head.

"There he is!" shouted a voice he did not recognize from within the vicinity, and the volume as well as the urgency in that tone was more than enough to prompt Tails to turn around to look at the speaker.

The owner of that cry was a human male, dressed mostly in green with a baton hanging from his belt, and from where Tails was, he could see that the man was talking into his radio while running toward him. "…the yellow-furred fox with two tails," he could hear the human say, and almost instantly, another bad memory entered his mind, unbidden and unwelcome.

"_The yellow-furred fox with two tails!" cried a bird dressed completely in a dark, navy blue uniform as he shouted out to his other comrades in the area to give chase. "Get him!" the bird then gave another cry before unloading his fearsome collection of weapons and heavy artilleries upon the almost naked fox below. After that, a multitude of explosions and blasts created by explosives deafened his ears and drowned the entire area in a sea of infernal flames with him trapped in the epicenter of the blazing inferno…_

"I found him!" said the same boisterous man again, breaking the fragmented memory of the distant past and dragging Tails' consciousness back to the present moment. To his horror, Tails saw the man was heading toward him fast, and immediately, his mind urged the young and frightened cub to do something, to run, to escape immediately. "He's going to hurt me," it said, and soon, the human was no longer there, and in his stead was now the silhouette belonging to a huge battle robot equipped with all kinds of things designed to inflict pain and sufferings on others.

"Run!" Tails' inner voice gave one last order before the fox turned around and began to do just that.

"Wait, kid!" the park security shouted after the retreating figure, but in his moment of panic, Tails had deliberately ignored the order, and instead, he picked up his pace and made his hasty getaway. He did not know where to go, but one thing he did know was that he had to run, to avoid capture and to survive.

And thus, Tails continued to run and run, faster and faster until his namesakes began to twist around one another on instinct. After being overwhelmed by his newly relived fear of abandonment and being haunted by the ugly memories of his past, Tails' mind was now stuck on autopilot mode, and the only thing he knew was to escape all of those that could hurt him.

Quickly, Tails made a mad dash forward, neither knowing nor caring where he was headed. He simply ran and ran, moving his feet as fast as he possibly could.

This run would continue on for a while until he was tackled to the ground by a sudden force. Unable to maintain his balance, Tails fell and landed unceremoniously on the hard soil of the park, both eyes closed tightly and face scrunched up as a wave of pain travelled up his shoulder upon impact.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and on instinct, Tails began to thrash, quite violently at that.

"Darn it, Tails, stop! Calm down!" a voice rang in his ears, but it was faint and vague, almost like a whisper carried and lost in the wind. In his clouded judgment, Tails concluded it was just his ears playing trick on him. Letting out a feral growl, the fox bared his fangs and quickly sank them into the arm he around him, eliciting a loud and pained cry from whoever he had struck.

Unfortunately, the grip did not lessen. It was still there, if not even tighter and more determined than earlier.

"Tails!" the fox heard his name being called again, more clearly this time, "Stop struggling and open your eyes, darn it!" demanded the person restraining him, but even in his moment of irrationality, Tails could feel that there was something in that tone that rang to him, something about the voice that felt really familiar and, dare he admit, endearing to his ears.

Slowly yet steadily, the haunting images of his past melted away and disappeared from his mind.

Slowly yet precariously, Tails then opened his tightly shut eyelids, wincing a bit as the bright sunlight shone directly in his orbs.

At first, the image he saw was a jumbled mess of different colors and random shapes of all sizes, but one color was the most dominant of all – blue, a very familiar hue that represented protection and, as Tails had come to associate the color with this one particular word, safety.

Soon, the collage of shapes and colors blended together, and at last, Tails could see, with perfect clarity, Sonic the hedgehog looking at him with a worried expression.

"Kid!" the hedgehog shouted again and gave Tails a slight shake. As soon as he saw Tails' eyes open, the panic in his own diminished, and before long, only relief remained. "Tails!" he cried out again, joyously as he gave the cub one more gentle shake on his shoulder.

"Sonic?" Tails responded at last, much to the hedgehog's relief. "What…"

"It's okay, kiddo, I've got you," Sonic quickly added and helped the younger boy up. "Up you go now."

"Sonic…" Tails muttered again, eyes now completely open and widened, and in them, Sonic could see a cluster of emotions running through the child's mind rapidly. "Sonic…" he repeated again, seemingly too stunned to utter another word or express whatever feeling he was experiencing.

"Shh!" Sonic quickly interjected as he pulled Tails into a hug and patted the distressed cub's head soothingly, "It's okay, you're okay…You're okay. I'm here now," he said into Tails' ear, his voice whispery and soft. "Come on, kiddo, let's find you a place to sit down first, okay?"

Tails, mind still in a daze, tried and failed to say something to the other. Before he could make a sound, however, Sonic had already scooped him up into his arms and dashed off to an empty picnic spot on the other side of the park, away from the curious stares of the crowd of people around them.

…

(To be continued)


	14. Settling In - Chapter 13

**Hello there, everyone and welcome back to the latest installment of this story. Admittedly, I was bored, so I decided to write up something small and short, and this chappie here is the result of it. It's the second part of _Lost and Found_, and it is written on Sonic's side. I really hope that you will enjoy this chapter. **

**Oh, and before I forgot, thank you so much for every review, like and favorite that you have given me. they mean a lot. Now then, without further ado, on with the chapter. :)**

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**Prompt: **Sonic is a good friend and a very good brother to Tails. However, his responsibilities are more than just being a friend to the orphaned fox child. At first, the hedgehog is not exactly a good guardian to a young and traumatized Tails. Well, he has got to learn that hurtful truth at some point.

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Chapter 13: Lost and Found (part 2)

Sonic the hedgehog was known far and wide for his unparalleled composure along with his carefree disposition, all of which came together to allow him to stay upbeat, positive and seemingly perpetually cheerful at all times – even in those times when he was faced with the greatest and grimmest of all adversities. In fact, all of these traits of the blue speedster had been clearly demonstrated on multiple occasions, most of which could be found during his longstanding feuds with Doctor Robotnik's madness and mechanical menaces.

Truth to be told, Sonic's reputation was such that it was almost like an established yet unspoken rule among the common, impressionable civilians - one that stated the name_ Sonic the hedgehog_ itself was pretty much synonymous to the term _fearlessness_, for the hedgehog had never once been spotted without his confident, if somewhat smug grins and relaxed postures before. Or at the very least, he had never been seen without his trademarks in the eyes of the public before.

However, those who greatly idolized Sonic were sadly mistaken to say that their blue hero was immune to the feelings of fear and dread. Great and brave as he was, he was but a mere mortal, a living organic being whose behavior and mindset were governed by the rationality of the mind and the conscience of the heart. As such, he was, like everyone else, not exempt from fear. Suppressed was it, yes, but absent, never.

Though the occasions in which he had unfortunately succumbed to it were far and few in between, Sonic had, at certain points in his adventuring life, panicked and lost his composure when met with a problem – a problem so huge that even his seemingly endless mask of cheerfulness cracked and broke.

It was to be expected when one led a life of a hero.

Throughout his lonesome adventuring life, Sonic had been marked a target. He had been aimed at by hordes of deadly homing missiles, but he could outrun them all. He had been trapped in a chemical plant filled with lethal mega muck, but he had survived the ordeal with some assistance. He had been made a target for killer robots specifically designed to combat his abilities directly, and yet he had outmatched every single one, especially and most notoriously his own robotic doppelganger, whom he had bested and narrowly escaped the fate of being pulverized on a collapsing highway. He had been assaulted by countless spikes, pits, mazes and challenged numerous deadly weapons that could force the bravest among the living to their knees, reduced to a trembling wreck and begging for mercy, among many ordeals.

And yet, throughout those challenges, he had remained calm and focused, and nothing was too much for the hedgehog. Thus far, nothing had proven to be a challenge hard enough that forced him to lose his cool. Until the day, the fateful day on which he at last met with a challenge formidable enough to test his patience and skills.

And that challenge was presented in the most extraordinary form, not of grand battle fortresses or orbiting weapons of mass destruction, but of a single child far younger than he was – a child with a unique anatomy and an even more unusual intellect that could easily challenge and eclipse those of the brightest of men. A fox child who went by the name of Miles Prower, who had somehow torn down his defensive walls and so effectively and sneakily wormed his way into the lone hero's heart and become almost the only constant in his fast-paced and ever-changing life. Sonic could not even remember a day in the distant past on which he had longed to return to his house atop the desolate mountain from his adventures…until Tails came into his life. Now, his visits to their home were more frequent and lasted longer than all of his past visits combined, and for someone who did not like stillness, he loved it.

It was funny that one simple child could have such an effect on him, but Sonic, despite not a believer of fate or destiny, was grateful that he had been allowed to meet the kid.

And the kid was exactly the reason why Sonic was panicking in the present. Despite his best efforts to keep an eye out for the twin-tailed fox, the latter had gone missing, lost amidst the sea of people and, to Sonic's dread, alone somewhere he could not see.

As mentioned before, Sonic was not one to be spooked easily, and there were few things that could actually scare him. But, among those few things, Tails was, at the moment, an item that was placed at the first row on his list. Nothing could quite terrify him the way his younger charge had managed to, as clearly evidenced during the climax of their previous and also first adventure together.

It was perhaps the very first time Sonic had outwardly shown fear unrestrained. His heart had almost stopped the moment he saw Tails go down with the burning Tornado during their last adventure, the fox's small frame disappearing into the ground below and soon engulfed by cruel, merciless flames covering the shot aircraft. After that event, Sonic's life was fat from peaceful with multiple jump scares on multiple separate events in the peaceful time between, and the latest one now was once again related to the fox disappearing, only not in the destructive flames of burning machines but within the suffocating sea of people visiting Twinkle Park.

"This is all my fault," Sonic, with a frown present on his face, muttered to himself as he walked around the enormous park to look for the familiar sight of his missing friend. If given the choice, he would not hesitate to run around at top speed and possibly cover every nook and cranny of the place within seconds. Unfortunately, with his growing concern for the missing Tails distracting his focus and Twinkle Park being currently jam-packed and overcrowded with happy and innocent people enjoying their weekend, Sonic immediately suppressed that temptation. After all, running around at high speed under all of these conditions equated to the possibility of him unintentionally causing accidents, and honestly, nobody enjoyed the notion of being hit head-on by a force moving at a speed beyond Mach 1 nor did they wish for their play date to end with a overnight stay in intensive care.

And needless to say, Sonic felt frustrated and angry, and most of all, helpless. For once, his speed was not the key to his problem, and right now, his frustration was mostly toward himself for letting this incident take place in his presence. Unintentional, he knew, but still, the guilt was profound.

"I should have paid more attention, darn it!" Sonic chided himself again as he walked around aimlessly, worried eyes quickly darting from one place to another in a frantic manner. "Oh, Tails, where are you? Please be safe and wherever you are, please stay put!" he whispered wistfully and hastily made his way toward the closest security office in sight to report the missing.

…

No fancy words could possibly describe the feeling of relief that was currently blossoming in Sonic's heart at this exact moment.

When one security guard reported the sighting of an individual that perfectly fit Tails' description, Sonic, in a sudden public display of uncontrollable excitement, could not help but let out a loud, exuberant holler that immensely surprised the other guards around him as well as the curious and clueless passing patrons. His initial thrill, however, was quickly replaced by a sense of dread unlike anything he had experienced as he listened to the guard shouting for Tails to stop a few seconds later.

"Oh, no, no, NO!" Sonic muttered fearfully, his eyes wide and fists clenched. Having spent lots of time around the traumatized kid, Sonic could now guess what kind of morbid thoughts were possibly crossing his mind at that moment when the guard shouted into the speaker.

Quickly yanking the device out of the grasp of the security guard to whom he had been talking, Sonic ignored the look on the human's face and immediately demanded the current location of Tails.

"Where is he?" he shouted into the communicator, his voice devoid of the usual playfulness he was well known for.

Upon receiving that vital piece of information, the hedgehog dashed off at once, his mind now solely set on his single objective of finding his lost friend.

His reflexes, seemingly fueled by his burning determination to find Tails, seemed to improve significantly as he dashed through the crowd of people in complex patterns, nimbly fitting his small body into the small spaces between the patrons and effectively leaving behind a trail of blue as he ran. Soon, he arrived at his destination.

His eyes instantaneously searched around the area until they finally landed on the sight of the two-tailed fox running away from the scene with his namesakes swaying in the air.

"Tails!" Sonic yelled, and at the same time, he gave chase.

After catching up and announcing his presence to Tails in vain for a while, he came to the conclusion that shouting alone would serve him no good. Thus, mentally apologizing to the kid for what was about to come, Sonic then steered straight into Tails and pounced on the fox, tackling him to the ground and effectively pinning him in place as a result.

As to be expected, Tails, in his current state of mind, began to struggle violently and fought valiantly against his captor's hold.

"Darn it, Tails, stop! Calm down" Sonic gasped out as Tails' fist landed on his cheek. Undeterred, Sonic continued to try to placate the fox, but to his horror, the thrashing only seemed to increase as time passed. Desperate, Sonic then placed one hand on Tails' shoulder, gripping it tightly in an attempt to snap him out of his current state. Unfortunately, his action only elicited a response Sonic could never have foreseen. Tails, upon contact, bared his fangs in an almost feral fashion and actually bit him, hard, sinking his sharp teeth straight into Sonic's unprotected flesh and causing the hedgehog to let out a sudden cry of pain.

Unfazed still by the rather violent and unbecoming act of self-defense coming from Tails, Sonic continued with his efforts again and again. Unbeknownst to Sonic at that moment, his voice had at some point taken on a more urgent note as he shouted out to his friend.

"Tails! Stop struggling and open your eyes, darn it!"

Thankfully, Sonic's voice broke through at last. Slowly and hesitantly, Tails finally unstuck his teeth from Sonic's arm and opened his eyes to gaze around. Though he seemed confused initially, the mist covering the child's eyes soon cleared up, and his face soon turned into a mix of surprise and relief as he was able to identify Sonic.

"Kid!" Sonic tried again, shaking Tails' shoulder ever so gently to rid the fox of any lingering confusion, "Tails," he added, increasing his volume and his action a bit.

"Sonic?" Tails said at last, and as if a switch had been flipped, a bright and joyous smile formed on Sonic's face, lightening up his entire facial features, "What…" Tails tried to continue, but Sonic quickly and gently cut him off.

"It's okay, kiddo, I've got you," said the hedgehog as he wrapped his hand around Tails' and easily hauled the cub up to his feet, "Up you go now."

"Sonic…" Tails tried to speal yet again, and like before, no words seemed to come out, "…Sonic…"

"Shhh! It's okay, you're okay…You're okay. I'm here now," Sonic spoke softly into the trembling child's ear, his free hand patting the kid's head in an affectionate and soothing manner. "Come on, kiddo, let's find you a place to sit down first, okay?"

Not even waiting for an answer from the other and having noticed that their little struggle had managed to attract quite an impressive turnabout of curious passers-by, Sonic silently held the fox up and in a blast of blue, made his way toward a spot where they could truly be alone and away from prying eyes of the public.

After all, he owed Tails an apology, and he would make sure the kid got it.


	15. Settling In - Chapter 14

**This is by far the most embarrassing moment that I've ever had. Sure, I've had massive delays before but this one, oh this one definitely takes the cake. I'm so sorry about my sudden MIA. It's just I've been a bit busy with school and exams and part-time job and everything else in between, so I haven't been able to pay attention to this little fic. To be honest, that and the fact that I'm currently writing another story for another website (whose rating will, and I can say this without a single shred of doubt, make it 100% sure to be banned on this site the very moment I put it up), I couldn't find the time for this one. But now, I'm back for a brief visit, and I'm putting the finishing touches on this _Lost and Found_ story arc. **

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 14: Lost and Found (part 3)

Tails, in his current bout of complete dazedness and confusion, was not able to register exactly what was happening around him, and even his memory was a blur. One minute, he was pinned to the ground and wresting with Sonic and the next, he suddenly found himself sitting underneath a massive and cool shade cast by the branches of an old oak, having been gently placed there by Sonic. The fox felt somewhat tired, but he did not fully comprehend why. But the most bewildering of all was the presence of a strange, metallic taste that his tongue could pick up – one whose origin was a mystery to the young cub. His confusion was clearly conveyed outwardly.

"Hey buddy," Sonic started, keeping his voice low this time to avoid attracting any unwarranted attention from the passers-by. Even though this particular spot of Twinkle Park was not heavily crowded with visitors, there were a small number of families holding their quality time together afar, having their outside picnics underneath the comfortable shades and enjoying the sweet, fresh and unpolluted air of the serene green field. Noticing that Tails was still spacing out and trying to discern something that was yet unknown to him, Sonic tried again, raising his voice a bit higher but not to the point at which he knew Tails would be scared.

"Hey, Tails," Sonic repeated his attempt at gathering the fox's attention, and unlike the last time, his attempt proved fruitful when two widened blue eyes slowly looked toward him, torn between confusion and apprehension. "How are you feeling, Tails?"

Tails took a moment to regard his best friend in silence for a while before he answered, his voice sheepish and subdued.

"I'm…I'm a bit confused to be honest," he admitted as he looked at his friend for explanation, "What exactly happened back there?"

"Well, what exactly do you remember?" asked the worried hedgehog as he crouched down to Tails' eye level, but still put a small distance between them for fear of overwhelming the jumpy and clearly traumatized child.

Tails' face scrunched up at the question, and at once, his brain raced as he tried his best to seek out the elusive pieces of memories regarding the last couple of minutes.

"After we were separated, I went around looking for you, but you were nowhere to be found" Tails began, "And then…I heard these…these voices and eyes and looks directed at me and then…" His brain suddenly called to mind the voice of the security guard calling out his features for identification and confirmation, and even though it was but an echo of the past, the effect it produced was immense.

Instinctively, twin tails wrapped themselves securely around a small, quivering frame in a self-reassuring manner, both of his knees were drawn up to his chest, and his eyes reassumed the same haunted look in them that made Sonic's heart fall. Another flashback, and Sonic knew very well this one was no less cruel than the previous ones he had seen thus far.

That such a young child would have to endure the nasty backslash wrought by the terrors of years of abuse and having survived through a horrific war was a heart-breaking sight – one that Sonic himself was not unfamiliar with, for he, too, had once treaded that path after being forced into combat at an age much too young. And thus, he could sympathize.

"Tails," Sonic spoke up again, daring to reach forth one hand and gently placing it on the fox's quaking shoulder. A jolt was an expected outcome, but Sonic refused to let go, acting as if the moment he did, his first and best friend would leave him again, only this time to a place where even he, with all of his legendary speed and skills could not possibly reach.

"Tails, I know you were terrified back there, and I'm very sorry for allowing that to happen. I promised and yet…I should have been more careful and paid more attention to my surroundings…" he resumed after a momentary pause, voice gentle still. He would go on, but a cracked whisper interrupted his thoughts.

"I was hunted…"

Whatever speech Sonic had previously prepared in his mind was smothered by that one single, abrupt and completely out-of-place confession – a confession uttered in a tone filled with nothing but sorrow and fear. He wanted to say something, but in his mind, he knew that for Tails to recover, he needed to be given the chance to speak what was haunting his thoughts first. And stay silent he did, patiently waiting for the cub to continue.

"Back on Cocoa Island, they always hunted me and made it look like some kind of sport for their entertainment. They would form groups and teams and give chase, sometimes from dawn to dusk and other times all night long. Every time they spotted me, they would cry loudly for their teammates, calling me…names and…" his voice was mixed with gasps at this point.

"Shh, it's okay, it's okay," Sonic soothed, "Take your time."

Tails did, and inhaled sharply, trying not to break down again, but his hold over his own emotions was fragile at best, delicate like porcelain.

"It was painful at first, and they would always find me, but as time passed, I grew more used to hiding and escaping their attempts. I thought I was finally fine, free from the constant bullying of the villagers. But then the armada came, and things got a hundred times worse…The hunts were no longer games played by bullies whose intention was to make me spend a night whimpering in pain. They became real, deadlier and deadlier after each one, and there were times when I thought I was going to die for sure when I stood at gunpoint, with nothing but my gloves and sneakers," as he spoke, his namesakes wrapped around him all the more tightly, and his shivering increased tenfold as if he was standing naked in the middle of a raging whiteout. "They used weapons, Sonic, real ones, those designed not to hurt, but to kill."

Sonic looked deep into those moist blue eyes of his friend, and his face fell along with his heart. But still, he said nothing yet, knowing that Tails still had something left to say.

"I don't remember how many sleepless nights I had to spend on running and hiding, and I can't even remember how many times I had bombs and explosives rained down on my temporary hideouts. I had to do everything on my own to survive. And when that man called out my features aloud…it was like I was there again, alone and targeted in the forest, surrounded by a battalion of birds with arms. I just…I just needed to run, I _had_ _to_ run, I had to stay alive somehow!" Tails' voice grew softer and softer toward the end, and at the same time, his quaking increased in contrast.

Unable to restrain the tears behind his moist eyes any longer, the cub at last allowed the unstable floodgate to break open, and at once, all the pent-up emotions and pain and frustration washed over him like a massive tsunami, drops upon drops of tears ran unchecked down his face and dampened his cheeks. Soft whimpers could then be heard coming out from his trembling lips.

Sonic had heard enough, and instantly, he closed the rest of the gap between them and pulled the hurting child into a tight embrace, wistfully hoping that the act alone could help shield the lonely boy, a boy who had seen far too much and suffered for far too long on his own, from all the evils of the world. But he was no fool. An optimist he was, but Sonic was also a realist, and while he knew he could not possibly take away the pain Tails had been forced to live through, he could, from here on out, make a even better efforts and do everything he could in his power to ensure the young cub was loved, needed, and cared for. An oath was formed inside his head, and by that oath he would abide.

And thus, Sonic wordlessly gathered the sobbing child into his hands and hugged him, offering as much warmth, reassurance and security as he possibly could while letting Tails unleash all of his frustration and agony he had been keeping inside of him. Years after years' worth of misery and anguish was conveyed through each tear that fell and each sob that escaped Tails' gritted teeth.

And the two sat still where they were underneath the shade – two brothers of no blood relation yet closely connected, two kindred spirits that had endured numerous experiences too horrific for their young ages to fully comprehend, and two friends who had formed a beautiful bond that was bound to last until time itself ceased to exist.

Sonic remained still, not speaking, not moving, and instead, all of his energy was focused on the hands that wrapped around the shuddering bundle in his care. And at that exact moment, the hedgehog could care less who saw the single droplet that escaped his closed eyes.


	16. Settling In - Chapter 15

**Hello there my lovelies, I am finally back again packing a new chapter for all. Since I do not want to bore anyone to sleep with my rambling, I'll simply let the chapter here do the talking for me. I hope you'll enjoy it. And if you don't, well, do not hesitate to let me know. All reviews and comments are welcome, and all opinions are equal in my mind. :)**

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Chapter 15: Torn

As to be expected, their play date had been cut short after the incident at Twinkle Park. Having seen the look of absolute terror dominating every feature upon Tails' face as well as having been subjected to the poor kid's most violent trigger reaction to date, even Sonic himself had lost all the desire to linger at the park. And thus, with a now silent Tails in his arms, whose head was now buried deeply into his friend's peach-colored chest and twin namesakes were wrapping themselves securely around his softly quivering slumbering form like a thick blanket, Sonic made his way home as fast as his legs could move.

'_How have I failed him so badly?'_ the hero of blue mentally chided himself, beating himself up over and over again throughout the brief run toward the Mystic Ruins. He cursed his inability to fulfill the promise he had made, and though a smaller, more subdued voice inside of him insisted that the events had been a result of terrible misfortune, it unfortunately failed to make the enormous weight of guilt inside, raging and threatening to explode like an active geyser ready for its glorious explosion, dissipate. Now with a heavy heart and a heartfelt frown upon his normally cheerful face, Sonic glanced briefly at the exhausted small cub in his arms before his eyes went back on the road.

He blamed the wind the dust in his eyes for the sudden blurriness.

Sonic said nothing, and instead, he continued to run at top speed. The usual joy of freedom and exhilaration that came with the activity was not at all present at that moment, only crushing melancholy and remorse.

Though the events had already come to pass, its lingering consequences remained, haunting both brothers from dawn to dusk, day in day out.

After that horrible day, Tails had grown to be more and more reclusive ever since waking up. For days, the cub had grown extraordinarily more determined to lock himself away in his personal workshop and immerse himself in his various and random distractions that his mind could come up with. The only being that the fox child would allow to stay near him during his current time of hardships was not his best friend, but his robotic pet. Sonic understood and had already resigned himself to the reality of their condition already.

How would one look at someone who had so horridly betrayed his trust in the first place? Sonic knew not, and so he had accepted it, allowing Tails to have as much time as possible to himself and hopefully, the trauma haunting the child would lessen in time, and Tails would come to once again accept him into his life again. The hero of blue had also decided that his daily runs would need to be temporarily put on hold, and that he should stay inside their shared home in case something extreme happened.

They might live under one roof, and yet, it was clear that the two friends were worlds apart.

For days, Sonic hardly ever saw Tails leave his sanctuary, if at all. The only times where the smaller cub would show himself were for his meals and bathroom breaks, and every single time, Sonic could feel, with perfect clarity, those moist, remorseful blue eyes gazing intently at the white gauze wrapped around his arm, where Tails had bitten him in his uncontrollable outburst.

And today, it was no different, still the same routine, the same silence, the same tension, and the same hollow eyes, afflicted with so much pain and agony – something that an innocent child should never be exposed to in the first place. The blue orbs continued to stare, secretly yet keenly at the small injury.

"Hey, kiddo and Puppy," Sonic said, doing his best to act like normal. His ruse, however, was imperfect and shaky, ruined by the pent-up self-directed frustration he had been experiencing. "How are you doing today?" he added, turning around and watching as Tails sit forlornly on his seat while T-pup was sitting silently and whimpering slightly in his owner's lap.

The child said nothing in response. His eyes lingered on the gauze for a while longer before they were directed downward again like many days previously. "Fine…" he muttered, his voice as soft as the gentlest of the summer breezes yet cold and emotionless like a harsh winter blizzard.

Sonic paused a bit before he reached for the dishes of eggs and bacon on the counter and placed them on the table. The strained smile stubbornly remained plastered on his face, forcefully willed by the wearer. It was as if the very moment that last remaining dam dropped, the restrained flood would overflow.

"Well, eat up, kiddo. Some eggs and bacons in your systems would do you some good…" he said again.

"Thanks…" Tails mumbled once more as he picked up his fork and began to halfheartedly devour his breakfast. Sonic did the same, eating his meal in an uncomfortable veil of silence. Only the noises made by the clanking of tableware against the porcelain dishes could be heard, occasionally accompanied by the small whimpers elicited from the worried T-pup as the robot looked at his master, his face as expressive as he could possibly manage.

Tails paid him no mind, however, as his attention was fixed on the sliced egg before him, cut cleanly in two even halves, its yolk bleeding out. Quietly, he stabbed the slices with his fork and devoured them.

The content of their dishes were quickly emptied, and in the same fashion as earlier, Sonic collected the dishes and placed them in the sink. He then opened the fridge in search of some milk, only to find that he had run out of it.

And that meant another grocery run was in session. Normally, he would not mind such a swift chore, but at the moment, he was not comfortable with leaving Tails alone in the house, which was filled with so many flammable gadgets and sharp-edged objects and…

'_Stop!'_ Sonic's inner voice interjected and commanded his train of thoughts be banished at once. The hedgehog began to control his breathing, inhaling and exhaling deeply and slowly. Soon, he was in control of his mind again.

"Looks like we've run out of milk, Tails," he announced, but Tails did not seem to have heard him or care. He simply sat still, unmoving and unfocused. "Looks like a grocery run to town is needed," Sonic added under his breath to himself only, but his action brought about an unforeseen result – a terrifying one at that.

Immediately, Tails flinched harshly in response. One hand accidentally swung and caused the knife to hit the floor. A loud, clanking noise was produced, effectively capturing Sonic's attention almost instantaneously. When he turned around, he saw Tail's head bolt upward. The cub's eyes were staring directly at Sonic, wide and dreaded, and his mouth was agape, and his lips were trembling.

"No, no, no," Sonic quickly reassured the boy, hands held forward in a placating manner. "It's okay, it's okay, Tails…You don't have to go, kiddo, just…just stay here and relax, okay. I'll go when…when I can find the time, alright. There's no need to get worked up, okay, buddy."

"Oh…" Tails replied meekly before his stiff posture deflated somewhat. His erect ears and namesakes limped and his eyes became downcast again, away from the older creature's concerned one. "I see…"

Then, not waiting for Sonic to say anything else, Tails stood up and made his way toward the basement, where his workshop was located. "I'll be working on my projects if you need me," said Tails simply before he disappeared, T-pup in tow.

The moment the door was shut and locked, Sonic's façade was also discarded. He felt like he had aged ten years in the course of a few days, and honestly, the stress and worries were gradually but consistently getting the better of him.

"Figures…" he said to himself as he sat down on his seat again, suddenly feeling weak and tired. "I'm hopeless when it comes to taking care of him…Chaos, what am I supposed to do with him? I don't know…"

Sonic did not know how long he had been sitting in silence, but his musing came to an abrupt relief when a sudden bang on the door was heard. With a start, he looked up and frowned to himself.

"Guess who's behind door number one?" said the hedgehog as he made his way for the door and opened it. True to his anticipation, Amy was standing at the entrance, clearly dressed to impress with a new wardrobe – a red dress with silver lining now adorning her frame in place of the former green shirt and pink frilly skirt combination she had so frequently been seen wearing in the past. Around her wrists were two shiny new gold rings, securing her gloves in place. And even her shoes had been switched out, with the blue sneakers now replaced by a pair of red boots to match her selected outfit. The only item that remained fixed on her was the red headband worn upon her quills.

She was smiling radiantly in his presence - something Sonic had not done for days now.

"Hi, Sonic!" exclaimed the female hedgehog exuberantly, a small blush already forming on her peach-colored cheeks.

"Hi there, Amy," he replied and, courteously, stepped aside, "Want to come in?" The girl nodded and headed in. As she walked past, Sonic swore he heard some strange giggling noises, but he made no remark. He did not need this.

"It's a long walk from Central Station to this place, Amy. What exactly are you doing here?" Sonic asked and placed a small glass of water in front of his guest. Though he had tried his best to sound and appear normal, there was still a subtle edge to his tone. If Amy had picked up on it, she did not show.

"Well, I thought I could drop by for a little visit," replied the pink hedgehog as she graciously accepted the offered glass in both hands, "And tell you that I have recently found a place to stay for the time being."

"Great, but doesn't that require money?"

"Not really. I'm staying with an old fortune teller. It's a funny story actually, for I was just walking around looking for a place to rent, and out of the blue, she came to me and offered me a shelter. I had no idea how she knew, but she agreed to let me live with her in exchange for me becoming her apprentice in Tarot reading," Amy shrugged and took a sip from her glass. "It was strange, but I did not sense any ill intentions from her, so I accepted the offer. And now, I have a roof over my head and study the art of fortune reading at the same time – free of charge. But I still need to do the chores and other things around the place. Her shop is small, so it's not very hard to keep everything in order."

"Isn't that a bit…suspicious and hasty?" Sonic asked, his eyes narrowing at the thought that Amy was spending her nights with a complete stranger in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world, where crime was a norm.

"At first, yes, but after a few days, I feel I can trust her. She's nice and caring, and she's even teaching me how to improve my Tarot reading skills," She suddenly paused for a while before her eyes lit up in excitement, "Want to see?" Amy asked eagerly, already placing her beloved deck on top of the table. Sonic's eyes looked between the card and the owner before he sighed and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Sure, why not?" he mumbled, sitting down and planting his chin on his palm, a look of disinterest and skepticism on his visage.

"Alright then, I'll do a simple two-card reading to save time. Now then, ask me any question you want, simple and easy."

"Okay…What's happening with me right now?" asked Sonic, not even bothering to come up with something difficult. He was not in the mood for visitors when his mind was filled with concerns and thoughts for his little brother, but he knew he had to humor Amy and her interest, at least for a while until the girl left.

Amy was not easily fooled by his ruse, however. She had noticed the unusual lack of energy that Sonic was displaying even before she had set foot in the house, but for his sake, she did not question it. Quietly, the fortune telling enthusiast reached forward and took two cards from the deck in the middle and flipped them up, revealing them to her friend.

Both The Lovers and The Sun were drawn and positioned in reverse.

Amy studied the two cards she had flipped up and hummed in musing, trying to figure out what the meaning behind them was. After a while, she looked up at Sonic, who seemed uninterested still with what his guest was doing. Her green eyes bore into the blue hedgehog's own, and then, she cited her own interpretation of the cards.

"Hmm…The Lovers, a card that normally shows mutual relationships and attractiveness of two beings…But you, Sonic, as far as I know, you have no relationship of such nature, so in this case, I believe The Lovers may refer to what is transpiring within rather than without, particularly your inner imbalance and turmoil – a dilemma. Currently, you are facing a very difficult problem with yourself, and you are holding yourself responsible for something that has recently happened. Now comes The Sun, also in reverse… Right now, the problem you're facing is so grand that you're making minimal success at turning things around at the moment…And you're also feeling depressed at the lack of success…" she stated, and at once, Sonic's eyes grew wide, stunned by what she had just said.

Amy looked at her friend and smiled a little before placing both cards down.

"From your reaction, I suppose I was correct with my reading, either partially or completely."

It took a while, but Sonic was able to recover from the initial surprise and looked at the other hedgehog. His neutral face was then forgotten, replaced by a genuine expression of sheer helplessness and weariness. Releasing a long string of sigh, he began.

"Yeah…You're right…spot-on even." He slumped down and hit his forehead against the table, not even bothering to act like everything was normal anymore. Amy was somewhat shocked that the usually confident and positive hero of hers was looking so defeated and lost. But she soon recovered and placed a hand on the other's in an attempt to soothe the male's pain.

"Sonic, I know something is wrong, but I don't know what exactly, but from what the cards showed me and my own opinion, I'd say there's something going on between you and Tails, right?"

"How do you know that?" asked Sonic, curious. Amy smiled in return before she explained.

"Simple deductions, really. From what I've seen from you, there's not much out there that can get you this down in the dump, so it must be something new entirely, something completely outside your comfort zone, something fresh and personal. Also, while you're famous and have plenty of fans, your circle of friends is a different story altogether. That and the fact that right now, at this very moment, Tails is nowhere in sight when he should be hovering around you like last time I visited, I suppose my conclusion is a pretty obvious one."

Sonic said nothing to her logic. Instead, he only sighed again, feeling the frustration and weakness that he had been keeping at bay return with a vicious vengeance, making every muscle in his body numb and tired. His head ached a little, and unconsciously, his hands moved toward his temples and massaged them.

"You'll make one fine fortune teller, Amy…" Sonic jested, but no humor was present. He sighed yet again before looking up.

"I honestly don't know what to do anymore…" Sonic admitted with a grunt, "Tails is retreating to himself again, and this time, it's all my fault. I thought I had been able to make some progress and helped him settle in and be comfortable, but one incident…Just one single incident undid everything. Now, he's locking himself away in his workshop, and every time he comes to see me, the first thing he looks at is this gauze around my arm."

"Did Tails do that?" Amy asked, lowering her voice to a whisper to avoid getting eavesdropped. Sonic nodded in confirmation.

"Yeah…Self-defense, adrenaline rush, survival instincts and fear all rolled into one and exploded in a single bite here. And now the kid's guilty, undeservingly so. He only reacted the way anyone would have when their lives are in grave danger, and now he can't even look me in the eyes every time he shows up! And I can't do anything to make him forget about it."

Amy stayed silent and listened with a pair of non-judgmental ears. Every few seconds, she would gently pat the slightly trembling fist under her palm, her movements soft and tender, in an attempt to soothe Sonic's pain. It did not work out, unfortunately, and she knew it. However, that did not stop her from trying.

Sonic resumed his monologue.

"I've done everything I could in my power, but I feel that…Tails needs more. He needs more than what I can offer – adult guidance, therapy or whatever else I don't know!" his voice at this point hitched, and an outburst exploded from his throat.

"Sonic…" Amy said gently. It took a while for the blue hedgehog's heavy breathing to return to normal, and he sat back down once more, face hidden in his hands.

"I've been thinking…I've been thinking that maybe I'm not fit to take care of Tails…that he should have a family of his own somewhere…but it hurts…I want him to be happy, but I'm just too selfish to let him go. He's the closest thing I have to a real family, and it hurts so badly to know that I can do nothing to ease his pain."

"You're not selfish at all, Sonic," Amy reassured in earnest. "You love him like he's your flesh and blood, and that's not a bad thing at all."

"But I'm uesless…"

"No, you're not. Try to look at things from his perspective for a while. He's young and he's scarred. And you are the first person alive who has ever reached out to him and offered him friendship, a home and a family. In his eyes, you are everything, so if you sent him away now, it would be the worst possible betrayal he has faced, and after that…I don't even want to think what the poor kid would do after that…"

As Amy spoke, Sonic could only sit still, unmoving. His ears pressed themselves tightly against his head, and his normally cheerful eyes seemed clouded as if the light of life and spirit behind them had been drained, but not completely. There was still hope, and the small, dim sparkles that desperately fought to stay alive in those orbs proved that hope still existed, albeit barely.

"You know Sonic," Amy began again, her fingers running along the surface of the tarot second card, The Sun. A soft smile could be seen on her lips as she spoke.

"The Sun is a wonderful card to have when you have a reading, because whether upside down or right-side up, it never symbolizes negativity, at least not entirely. As it is dictated in the laws of nature, after a heavy downpour, the sun shines again. Even when it is hidden by the clouds, the warm sun can never be hidden forever. Likewise, The Sun is a card that, when upside down, refers to problems that are only temporary in nature. They may be difficult to overcome, but it's not as though they are impossible to, and I know from experience that you've made the impossible possible numerous times in the past, Sonic. So don't give up now, don't give up _ever_. Tails is going through a tough time right now, so he needs some space, probably for a while, but that doesn't meant he is not going to need you afterward."

He let those words sink in, echoing in his mind and filling his thoughts. At long last, Sonic turned and gave Amy a small smile of gratitude. While it paled immensely in comparison to the ones he was normally seen wearing, that ghost of a smile that was apparent on his face told the other that Sonic would be alright, and that he would try harder for his friend's sake.

"Thanks Amy…You're a great friend."

"I think you meant _girl_friend, my hero!" she said jokingly, eyelids fluttering repeatedly at his direction.

"Ah…sure…You're a nice friend…who's a girl and all that jazz," he replied with a strained smile, and Amy simply rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"Oh, I know you're just shy. I've read the cards, and they told we are destined to be together, my Sonic."

"How accurate are those things again?" Sonic asked nervously and quickly racked his mind for a different topic and hopefully distracted the female, who had once again slipped into the much dreaded fangirl mode again, unbidden. To his surprise, though, Amy burst out giggling at his face.

"You're so cute when you're flustered, you know that," she said between gasps, making the other frown and sigh through his nose in exasperation. He was used to throwing smart retorts and teases at his enemies, but he was still unused to being on the receiving end. Amy's giggles subsided after a while, and she continued.

"Okay, all jokes aside, you need to get your mind off of your problems for a while. In the meantime, maybe I will try and talk to Tails and see if I can do anything to cheer him up. How does that sound?"

"I don't know, Amy…"

"He's feeling guilty for attacking and injuring you, so he's deliberately avoiding you. On the other hand, he has nothing against me for the moment, so maybe he'll at least allow me to come into his room."

Seeing the sense behind the girl's logic, Sonic nodded and sighed again.

"Alright, we need some milk anyway."

"What?" Amy cried, face pale and eyes wide as if scandalized. "No milk? Unacceptable! You're growing boys, and you have no milk! Nightmare, I tell you, nightmare! So get out of here and get some, now!"

As she spoke, Amy quite roughly ushered Sonic toward the door, much to the latter's distaste.

"Since when did you become my mom?" asked Sonic, annoyed.

"I'm not," Amy retorted, "But I am a girl, so I know about nutrition and healthy diet more than you two ignorant boys put together. So zip it and step on it!"

With one last cry of finality, she pushed Sonic out and slammed the door shut. It took a while, but once his composure returned at last, Sonic scratched his head awkwardly, looking around him and then back to the entrance to his home.

"Did I just get kicked out of my own home?" he asked, not sure if he should be bothered by the irony of his situation or humored by it.

A few seconds later, however, the bewildered hedgehog shrugged dismissively and dashed off toward the city, all the while hoping that Amy would be able to help Tails where he could not.


	17. Settling In - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Heartfelt Confession

Amy had spent a few minutes controlling her breathing and soothing her nerved in preparation for what was about to come. She had promised Sonic to at least get Tails to talk about his problems with her, and she was, in all honesty, intent on doing exactly what she had claimed. Though they had only met, Amy knew the boy was not just an average being, the obvious twin namesakes aside of course. She could see what Sonic had seen in him – a soul so gentle and giving, and yet, so damaged and fragile, scarred horribly by misdeeds done to him, all of which had never been by his own fault. It was heartbreaking to see someone so beautiful, so young and so kind to endure such hardships alone for so long. However, the last part was perhaps the one that made Amy sympathize with Tails and Sonic the most – loneliness.

Being born into the world and not knowing who had given birth to you – not even the smallest clue of figuring out that fact, not even a memento left behind that could point toward the possible identity of the parents – that was a feeling Amy Rose knew well. All of her life, she had known one simple fact, she had been born on Little Planet, and ever since she could walk and talk, she had been alone, on her own, surviving day-by-day through hard work and self preservation. Everything she knew was through her own process of self-educating, including how to fight against outer menaces.

And thus, if there was anything Amy sympathized more than the rest combined, it would be the fact that they she, Sonic and Tails seemed to share the same background, but not necessarily the same lifestyles. Hers had mostly been spent in hardships, but there had been offers of kindness and assistance along the way. Sonic's was one shrouded in mysteries wrought by tales of his unfathomable achievements against Doctor Robotnik and all adversities. Tails', on the other hand, had not been so kind from what little information Sonic had been willing to share with her.

Alone since birth, growing up in prejudice and hate and possibly more…Amy shivered involuntarily where she was standing, right in front of the yellow-painted wooden door, upon which a medium-sized, hand-drawn insignia of twin tails was present. Below the symbol hung a small board with the neatly written words, "Tails' Workshop." Her hand hovered before the wooden door, hesitance shown in the slight trembling tremors that wrecked through the extended appendage. Just the mere thoughts of such a cruel fate forced upon a soul so pure made her heart heavy, and her face contorted into a disapproving frown. And then, with a sharp shake of her head, she dispelled the heavy, aching sense of dread dissuading her from going inside.

Her knuckle shot forward. Contact was made. Three light knocks were heard, ripping though the silence of the small abode, ringing loud and clear. The swift noises passed, and the veil of silenced loomed over the place once more.

Tenderly, patiently, Amy tried again, putting a bit more strength behind her action.

"I'm busy, Sonic," came the muffed, barely audible voice inside, penetrating through the thick door and entering her ears.

"Tails, it's me, Amy," she replied, enough for her voice to bypass the obstacle ahead.

At first, nothing happened, but seconds later, the unmistakable clicks of locks being undone were heard, and the door creaked open a crack, just enough for Amy to see one triangular ear atop a yellow-furred head. Innocent and wide blue eyes stared at her tentatively, surprise and something subtler – something akin to restrained happiness - decorating the shimmering pupils.

"Amy?" he asked again, his lips twitching upward a little at the sight of his friend.

"Hello, Tails," she greeted with a cheery wave and flashed him a genuine smile.

"What are you doing here?" the fox questioned, but at the same time, he politely stepped aside and opened the door a bit wider, courteously inviting the female hedgehog inside.

At first, Amy, at the sight of the sweet child before her, was about to tease him, but thought against it. It had been a disaster this time, and she was not in the mood for conjuring a sure-to-be devastating catastrophe. Thus, she stepped in and spoke.

"I'm just visiting and telling you that I've finally found a place to live in Station Square. At the same time, I want to check on how you boys are doing."

"Thank you for your concern," the fox child bowed his head respectfully, much the guest's female. But then, he looked up at the hedgehog and assumed a thoughtful expression, "And you look absolutely stunning in your new outfits, Amy."

"Why thank you!" she blushed and smiled, "It's nice of you to notice." The hedgehog then did a brief twirl, showcasing her new dress in all of its hand-sewn beauty.

"And by the way, congratulations on your new dwelling! Oh, speaking of which, a new house requires a housewarming gift, so maybe I ought to give you something to celebrate the occasion."

"Oh no need for that, Tails," she giggled, charmed by her friend's thoughtfulness and politeness, "Besides, it's not exactly my own house, it belongs to someone else, I'm just allowed to stay there for the time being."

"Oh, but it's your first time living in a city like this, so you may need something to protect yourself with…and I may have just the thing right here. Wait a moment, please."

Before Amy could protest, Tails had already dashed toward his worktable a little distance away and began rummaging through the clusters of random components of varying sizes that Sonic had given him ever since he moved into his home.

Amy could only smile a small smile as she stood still, unable to find it in her heart to crush the smaller child's enthusiasm and as an extension, his giving heart. Her eyes watched intently as the fox continued to search through his worktable for something to give her. At one point, she had to bite back a snicker as Tails' form disappeared completely behind the table, with only his namesakes swaying excitedly back and forth in midair.

"Ah ha!" he suddenly exclaimed, both tails becoming erect and rigid. "Found it!" He stood up, proudly holding up a medium-sized object in both hands - a yellow and blue hammer seemingly tailored for the purpose of melee combat.

Amy was stunned when Tails gave her the hammer, smiling radiantly as he did so.

"Here!" he said, tails swishing back and forth in excitement. Amy silently reached her hand forward and accepted the offered hammer.

"Thank you, Tails…" she said softly, not sure of what to make of this gift. Tails noticed and went on, his smile never once faltering.

"It's called the Pikkon Hammer, something I made a few days ago for the purpose of self-defense and during my...trip down memory lane…Well, in any case, it's compact and light and can be wielded by anyone, but it can be quite a lifesaver in times of trouble. Actually, this one is a replica of the one I made a while back after I left…" his voice suddenly grew silent at this point, and the initial enthusiasm faded away, leaving behind a haunting look in those clouded blue eyes.

Amy understood immediately, for she had seen that same heartfelt expression every time she had gazed into a mirror or a reflective surface. Her fingers tightened around the handle of the gift, and a smile appeared, appreciative in nature.

"Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness, Tails," she said earnestly. Tails looked up and smiled in response – a smile that was sheepish and weak, not even a fraction compared to the one he had exhibited when he had seen her. Amy did not comment on it, knowing it was not her place to do so.

The hedgehog then took a few steps forward to an open space and gave the newly acquired weapon a few trial swings. Surprisingly, it was as Tails had advertised. The materials from which the hammer had been made were light, allowing for swiftness of executions and great maneuverability. All initial skepticism dissipated, and she gazed at the gift fondly.

"How is it?" Tails asked, a bit nervous.

"It's perfect, Tails," she replied, another thin-lipped smile gracing her lips, "I could definitely use this Piko hammer for self-defense with enough practice."

"Actually, it's called the _Pikkon_ Hammer," Tails corrected shyly, but then shrugged, "But since it's technically yours now, you can name it however you wish, I guess."

"Then Piko Piko Hammer, I christen thee!" Amy exclaimed excitedly, pointing her hammer upward like a precious trophy.

"Okay, but why two Pikos?" Tails asked, genuinely curious at the seemingly redundant naming method.

"It's cuter that way," the hedgehog replied, and Tails left it at that. He then looked at her outfits and choices of color more closely this time, his eyes analytical. Once his analysis was complete, the perceptive child spoke up once more.

"Hey Amy, uh…" he started, but then hesitated for a while.

"Yes?" asked the other, smiling still. That gave Tails a bit more confidence and he followed up with his initial sentence.

"Uh, if you want, Amy, I can give the hammer a coat of pink to go with your preference of colors…"

"You would do that?" she squeezed excitedly.

"Yes, anything for a friend of mine," Tails said simply, and her heart soared. Hearing that out loud was different than simply knowing the fact. Tails really saw her as a friend, and based on what Sonic had told her, not many were entitled such an honor.

Tails continued, "Also, I think it's going to need to be lengthened a bit to suit your height, maybe a bit bigger for more reach…" he said and already, his mind was racing for ideas for a revamped hammer tailored for his friend. "Okay, I need to work out a few details, so you just leave it here and I'll work on it."

"You're a really sweet boy, you know that," said the hedgehog as she leaned down and planted a soft kiss against Tails' forehead. A blush spread across his face, completely dying his white fur in a ripe shade of red, much to the female's amusement. After Amy leaned back, her hand still remained on his shoulder, and when Tails saw it, his eyes widened. His lips began to tremble slightly. Images extracted from his memory started to resurface, unbidden, uninvited.

An arm of peach skin…Bite marks…The strange taste of iron lingering at the tip of his tongue…the soft sounds made by droplets dripping down and shattering against the ground as they hit…_Sonic's white gauze, tainted by a nauseating blob of red._

Tails suddenly coveted his mouth with both hands, desperately fighting back against a vile sensation creeping up his throat. The two bushy tails grew tense and unconsciously moved closer, wrapping themselves around his body in a protective fashion – an ominous precursor of what was to follow.

He was trembling outwardly, uncontrollably as though he was trapped amidst a violent blizzard naked and afraid. The memories were coming back more clearly, fragments connecting with more fragments, fitting together like a perfect puzzle, and more images associated with that horrid day appeared inside his head. The horror, the pain he had caused his best friend – the worst offense…the guilt…

"Tails!" Amy shouted with a touch of urgency and shook the child before her. Her movement was soft and controlled, but her mind was the complete opposite. "Snap out of it!" she added and purposefully increased her shaking a bit while trying to mentally bar her own anxiety from overriding her rationality.

At first, her efforts failed to reach the child, but with persistence, she finally managed the feat at last. Her grip tightened around the fox's shoulder, and at the same time, her eyes were lowered to the boy's level, taking in the sight of those stormy orbs.

His shaking weakened somewhat, and awareness returned, evident by the new light of recognition in his eyes as he returned the gaze, his face still fixed in a fearful and remorseful look, sickly pale in complexion and soaked with nervous sweats.

"I…Amy?" he asked uncertainly, shaky and frantic.

"Come on, Tails, let's get you seated and some water to cool down as well," said Amy as she gently grabbed his hand and guided him out of the workshop. Tails did not protest. He followed quietly and directed his gaze downward at his paddling feet. His free hand still wrapped around his mouth.

Amy got him to sit while she fetched some water. Tails, while waiting, kept working on his controlling his breathing and attempting to calm down. His eyes darted around the room in an attempt to search for something - anything at all to keep his overactive brain occupied. He looked and looked, and it was then that he noticed a distinct lack of a certain hedgehog of blue in view.

"Where's he?" asked Tails under his breath.

"Sonic's out right now to get some milk on my order," Amy said, who, to Tails' surprise, had picked up his question. She placed a glass of water in front of him, and graciously, he accepted, taking small sips from it and quietly relishing the delightful and welcoming feeling of cool liquid running down and washing away the dryness of his throat. Soon, the content was emptied.

"And if I know the supermarket well and I know I do, I suppose he's stuck in a pretty nasty queue right now, so it may be a while before he could get back."

"Oh…I see…"

"Want some more water?" Amy offered. Tails courteously declined, stating that since he was the host, he should be the one to ask that question. The hedgehog, however, giggled and ascertained it was no problem at all.

"Now then, Tails," Amy began as she settled down, her eyes studying the child in a soft and subtle manner so as not to provoke any more unwarranted reactions. "Are you okay now?"

"Yes, I'm feeling better, thank you," the other answered truthfully with a small smile.

"Okay…"

Silence fell between the two. So strong and thick was the silence that even the faintest of dripping water could be heard with crystal clarity. Before the atmosphere grew too tense and suffocating, Amy feigned a cough and spoke up, banishing the haunting stillness.

"So, Tails, what have you been up to lately? Anything exciting on your end?" she asked, a false cheery tone lacing her words.

Tails shrugged and replied, "Nothing much, really, I've been working on recreating a few things that I used to have and making some modifications on the Tornado and my pet T-pup, that's all…Other than that, nothing exciting happened on my end. What about you, Amy?" he added, attempting to appear conversational and act like a real host instead of being rude to his friend.

"A lot, to be honest. I got me a roof over my head and a good apprenticeship position, which may prove useful for developing my skills with fortune telling and all. Oh, and not to mention I've been doing my best to make some money of my own by selling some of the clothes and accessories I make in my free time. It's not much, but enough to get food on the table."

"Wow," Tails muttered, amazed, "What do you make?"

"Hmm, dresses, bracelets, necklaces, you name it, I make it," replied the hedgehog proudly.

"Then your outfits are all handmade?"

"Yup! Pretty slick, huh?"

"They're incredible, Amy," Tails said with a smile, appearing a bit brighter than earlier, much to Amy's relief and satisfaction. "You are very talented!"

"Why thank you for the compliments. But if you ask, me, you're pretty gifted yourself, Tails."

"Huh?" the fox tilted his head to one side, confused. Amy retained her smile and pointed at the patched up, worn-looking microwave right behind her.

"That wasn't there last time I visited, and I know that Sonic's famous, but he's still a kid and there's no way on earth he can get enough money to pay for something like that."

"It could have been a gift from the people, you know, for his heroics," Tails replied, abashed. Another bout of giggle was elicited by the girl before she continued.

"Trust me, Tails. I'm probably the only one in the entire Station Square that has enough motivation to travel all the way up here to the treacherous terrains of Mystics Ruins just for the purpose of visiting you two. And besides, do humor me, but who awards a hero with a microwave?" she asked the last part with a touch of humor, and Tails said nothing to it.

"It's nothing, really," the child prodigy spoke again after a few seconds, the blush on his face prominent against his fur, "I just want to make life a bit easier for Sonic since I owe him my life and all…" The frown returned again, and so did the edginess of the fox's voice at the mention of his best friend's name.

"Tails, I know Sonic, and I know he doesn't think it that way," Amy said with certainty, but Tails remained still. "I know him since he saved me – a complete stranger then – along with everyone else on Little Planet without asking for anything in return. He saved you because I was in trouble, no question asked, no reason needed. It's just his nature, that's all, and after spending most of my time following him on his later adventures, I was able to ascertain it to be true."

"But he's given me so much, and I've barely given him anything other than worries and stress and…" Tails' voice got stuck inside his throat then, and he looked down.

"And…" Amy prompted gently, patient and nonjudgmental.

Tails grew quiet and avoided eye contact.

"Tails," Amy sighed softly through her nose and her facial expression softened as she did, "I know you two have problems, and I'm not going to lie, Sonic talked to me a while ago, and from what Sonic already told me, you two are not even looking at each other in the eye at all when you talk and that's not right."

"Did Sonic put you up to this?" Tails asked her in an accusing voice. Amy remained unflinching and calm, patient with her friend.

"No," she confirmed, "I did go all of the way from the city here to visit you two, but then I got Sonic to admit to the problem, and I decided to help, I want to help, out of my own volition. Nobody forced me to do it."

"Why?"

"Because like you say, we're friends, and I want us to stay as such. And besides, if there's something I know more than anything else, it is the feeling of loneliness, of isolation, of the sheer agony when you have to brave through the storms of life with nobody staying by your side."

The child kept his gaze down, but his softly twitching ears were absorbing the hedgehog's words. Amy noticed, and with an inward smile, she went on.

"Tails, while I cannot even begin to fathom even a fraction of the terrible pain life has inflicted upon you, I can at the very least sympathize with you on your loneliness and fear of contact. Truth to be told, I was a recluse, too, back on Little Planet. I acted polite to everyone I met, but I never went out of my way to build any real sentimental attachments with them, for deep down, I was utterly afraid that I would be hurt in the end when they left me alone again, just like the day I was born."

Again, Tails made no response.

"But things have changed for me since I met Sonic. At first, I followed him out of pure impulse, that 'love of first sight' thing, you know. But when I met him again and again and again during his many adventures throughout the globe, I realized he was just like me – a kindred spirit who had nobody to fall back on, and then, I decided that I wanted to be with him for real. Companionships can hurt, yes, in my case quite literally because that blue idiot always ups and goes and makes me run around and around after him, and my feet have limits!" she hissed, making Tails flinch momentarily.

Upon realizing her mistake, she calmed down again and coughed.

"Sorry," she apologized, "Sometimes, I tend to get a little heated and carried away with my emotions. But in any case, what I'm trying to say is, like me you've been alone for a long time Tails, and like me, you're afraid of losing your friendship with Sonic, but you don't know how to fix it. Your guilt is making you drift further and further away from him."

"I hurt him," Tails suddenly spoke up, his voice a ghostly whisper.

"Tails, we all know that it was just an accident…" Amy said, but was interrupted. "There was no way either of you could have predicted such a thing to happen."

"All he wanted to do was trying to help me, and I hurt him. I bit him! Like a mindless, feral, savage animal…" a dark, humorless chuckle escaped his thinly parted lips, "I practically gave the saying 'bite the hand that feeds you' a literal meaning. And now, every time I see that bandage around his arm…I just…I can't believe I did it…me…His blood on my teeth…" Tails' trembling intensified.

"Sonic doesn't blame you," Amy began after a moment of reprieve, "I know so, he's not the type of person that clings on to grudges. He understands, and I understand that what you did was out of self-defense purely, and deep down, I think you yourself know it. You're just having a hard time admitting it."

"I want to apologize…I've been wanting to apologize for a days now," Tails carried on, his entire body quaking visibly with guilt, so much that it looked like it physically hurt. His restrained emotions were now flooding out unobstructed.

"I've wanted to say sorry to him so much, so badly, but…every time I see that injury…I can't help but feel the _immense, crushing_ sense of shame, knowing that it was I who had caused it…I hurt him…I want to talk to him, but at the same time, something in my mind says he will hate me, saying that if I look up, I will see disappointment in his eyes…I don't want to see that look on his face. I'm fine with having the entire world hate me, but Sonic…no, please no…I can't stand that…I'd rather die than have him look at me like that…I just can't…"

Tails could no longer hold back the tears anymore. Fat drops of water escaped his eyes and fell on the table. His shoulders quaked with sobs, and a string of heartfelt apologies and pleads came out of his shaky lips. Once again, he fell back into his bushy cocoon and cried his little heart out.

Soon, he felt another layer embracing him and heard a soft voice assuring him that everything would be fine. His volume increased and increased as time passed, and more tears leaked out of his closed eyelids.

In the kitchen, the two stayed still, the older doing her everything to offer as much warmth and protection as possible while the younger let his pent-up grieve out until at long last, his tears dried up, his voice became hoarse from yelling, and his crying was reduced to dry, heartbreaking sobs.

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**Note: The Pikkon Hammer mentioned in this chapter is a real item, and it's one of the weapons Tails uses in Tails' Adventures. Just saying. In any case, enjoy the chapter, everyone. :)**


	18. Settling In - Chapter 17 (Final)

**Oh yes, finally another chapter written up and ready for posting. It has been a while again, but luckily, the interval between this latest update and the previous one is not as greatly noticeable as last month's uploads. I hope you will enjoy this chapter.**

**P.S. Oh, and do check the end for a very special author note. I think you'll like it (or not, I'm no mind reader, sadly T_T). In any case, read and enjoy, and if you can, drop a few lines of reviews, I'll take anything from warm to spicy hot and frosty cold. Good thing I've got quite a healthy appetite as of late.**

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Chapter 17: Resolution

The seemingly endless and intense torrent of teardrops welling up within and out of the fox child was at last dried up, leaving behind only dry hiccups and anguished sobs that escaped his constricted throat and gritted teeth. The two bushy appendages were still securely wrapped around his small, slightly quaking frame where he sat, and though the shivering had weakened, immensely reduced when the last of his tears had been shed, Amy still could not find it in her heart to break the embrace, and neither could Tails. It was as though those hands holding him were the anchors, rusty and old and ready to break, that tied his sanity and rationality in place, preventing them from slipping out of his grasp once more.

His hearing was not currently at its best performance, but even so, faint murmurs offering soothing words of comfort and reassurances could still be faintly picked up. He could feel her breathing against his head, soft and gentle as the summer breeze trickling through his fur. He could hear her heartbeats, rhythmic, clear and steady with its beating, unintentionally producing an enchanting melody that managed to capture and subsequently invite his pace of breathing to dance along with each beat. Tails soon found that the erratic pace was gone, and he could respire more easily, and he did, taking the time to fill his lungs with as much air as possible to calm himself down.

Amy noticed the changes, subtle though they were, but welcoming nonetheless. And thus, the hedgehog planted a small, brief kiss against his forehead to show that she was there to stay, to ensure that he was wanted rather than repulsed, and that his moment of vulnerability did not warrant him any ridicules, only understanding.

"It's okay, Tails," she spoke up and stroked his head a little with one hand, smiling a little as well when a content sigh reached her acute ears. "Just let it all out, you'll feel much better that way."

"Thanks, Amy," he replied in a shaky voice, but this time, a small, appreciative smile decorated his face as he spoke. More muffed sobs were elicited, but the trembling lessened substantially, almost gone.

The two friends remained still for a while longer where they were, silently offering each other whatever comfort they could manage. Amy eased Tails' pain with his own fears, and at the same time, she also relieved some of her own, private pains wrought by years upon years spent in loneliness as well. Unconsciously, her embrace tightened around the cub, but Tails made no protest. He relished it, every single second.

"I'm sorry for getting your new dress wet," said Tails with a hint of jest in his words. Amy snickered amusedly in response.

"It's dry soon anyway, so no worry," she said, and the fox nodded before untangling himself from the appendages wrapped around his tiny body, albeit with much reluctance and regret as he did so.

"Excuse me, but I need to use the bathroom for a while," Tails said politely before making his way toward the named destination. Amy stayed still and watched the cub as he somewhat unsteadily treaded along the hallway.

Once the sounds of the bathroom door closing and locked were confirmed, the pink hedgehog sighed in relief before she made her way toward the main door and opened it.

"And how long are you going to stay out there and eavesdrop?" she asked, wearing a mask of feigned annoyance at the owner of the isolated residence. Sonic appeared a bit surprised that he had been caught, but his feelings were kept inward. With a stiff impression of his casual smile hastily plastered on his face, Sonic spoke up.

"Hey, I did nothing of the sort," he protested and held up the bag he was holding for good measures, "I just got back with the milk. Luckily, the supermarket was not that crowded today."

"Sure you didn't…" replied Amy, dragging the syllables out, her words filled to the brim with traces of annoyance and sarcasm.

"Ah, just out of pure curiosity only, how did you know I was out here?"

Amy simply laughed hollowly and pointed at the part of the floor where they were standing on, upon which two blobs of blackness were cast by the sunlight behind the male.

"Your shadow slipped through the crack of the door," Amy explained simply before stepping outside and letting Sonic in.

"You're pretty perceptive," he commented as he walked toward the fridge and began to arrange the items he had purchased inside the unit.

"Thanks, it's something I've had a long time of practice thanks to my childhood or, as one would say, lack thereof," Amy stated simply with a dismissive shrug, unbothered by the fact she had long come to accept. Her eyes darted back to Sonic, who was still absentmindedly staring at the inside of his fridge, and they narrowed.

"You never did answer my question, you know?" she started again, her voice low.

"Which one?"

"How long were you going to eavesdrop?" she clarified. "And don't even lie to me, Sonic. I noticed you linger outside the door just seconds after we started speaking. So spare me the excuses and just tell me this, how much did you hear exactly?"

At first, silence greeted her question, prompting her to try again, with more vigor and persistence with each subsequent attempt. Sonic's stubbornness won out for the first three rounds, but when the fourth time the same question was asked, he sighed and relented.

"Since the part where Tails said he hurt me…" he admitted, allowing his shoulders to slump. "I accidentally left him alone and he blamed _himself_ for my mistake…"

"Okay, stop, stop right there," Amy cut in and shook her head, a pronounced frown now taking over her facial features. "You, both you and Tails, need to man up and pull the plug from this whole pity party you're throwing yourselves and sit down together. Have a talk, settle things out instead of wallowing like this. You heard his side of the story, and now, you understand how he sees you, so use that knowledge to speak to him, assure him or anything."

Sonic grew silent and sat down, his chin planted on his palm as he tapped against the table in a distracted manner. Amy opened her mouth again, about to say something, but whatever she had planned was cut short when the unmistakable noises of small feet paddling along the floor toward their location were entered her ears. Sonic noticed as well, and his ears instinctively perked up and darted toward the source. His eyes soon followed and landed on the still form of his best friend standing a few feet away from them, eyes wide and puffy from his latest unloading of pent-up frustration.

"Tails," said Sonic as he stood up, making his chair scrape against the floor. That foreign noise seemed to snap Tails out of his trance-like state, and as if on instinct, the child took a step backward. He was tempted to flee, and almost acted on that urge if not for Amy's interception.

"Tails," she said, and the named fox halted his movements. Blue eyes looked at two pair of emerald orbs staring at him, one with empathy and the other with something he was not used to seeing, fear. And that gnawed away at his heart, knowing that someone feared him, more so when it was his best friend who felt that dreadful emotion. The inner voice reached out to him once more, urgently calling for his feet to move, away from the scene.

"Tails," Amy, noticing the conflicting look in his eyes, called out once more. Her voice was louder, and more authoritative, but the kindness she had been displaying thus far was not eclipsed by the sudden manifestation of forcefulness. "Please come and have a seat. I think you and Sonic have something you _must_ discuss, and this conversation looks like it's already overdue, so let's not leave it hanging, shall we?"

Tails' breath hitched inside his throat, and he eyed the blue hedgehog with wariness and apprehension. He was scared, afraid that his own fear would be made real, if it had not already been. He had spotted the fear in Sonic's eyes, after all…and the fact that something like that could exist was sickening. It made Tails' stomach twist. He felt sick and weak at the knees.

"Tails," said another voice, Sonic's voice, and even though there was a small smile on his lips, his voice did not hold any mirth or even his usual cheerfulness Tails had come to associate his best friend with. That was foreign, and the fear that still lingered behind those striking emerald eyes only added further confusion to the mix.

The cub made no move, and inside his head, he waged an internal war with himself, debating whether or not he should do as told or leave. During that time, a tense veil of stillness fell upon the three, but neither hedgehog made any move to dispel it. Instead, they waited patiently for the boy to come to them, on his own accord.

A step backward…and then two shaky steps forward…a pause in between, and the entire process repeated itself like a cycle. The movements continued, steps moving in conflicting patterns, agonizing pauses in between before the cycle began anew. The hedgehogs said nothing. They stayed still and waited.

Steps forward, pause, repeat…only the pause was shortened after each cycle, until it was erased completely from the equation, leaving only steps forward, moved in repeated motions.

Minutes later, Tails was standing right before Sonic, separated only by the wooden table between them, and even though they had been in their respective positions for days after the incident, this was perhaps the closest, physically and emotionally, Sonic had ever felt to his best friend. Their eyes locked, and the silence drew on, tense and suffocating.

Amy stood on the side, her eyes darting rapidly from one brother to another. A glint of tension and hope was mixed inside her gaze, but her words were kept within, locked behind her sealed lips. She had done her part, her mind reasoned, and erected a bridge between the two friends. It was entirely up to Tails and Sonic whether they wanted to use that road or not. Her job was to bear witness for what was to transpire, and she did so in complete silence.

Tails meekly pulled his chair back and sat down, eye contact broken. Sonic was the first to initiate the conversation. With a feigned cough, he captured the other's attention before he spoke.

"Tails," he began, soft and gentle still, "I…" A pause was made in between, followed by a sigh. "To be honest here, buddy, I actually don't have any speech planned, so let's just skip the whole pleasantries and cut to the chase." Once again, Sonic stopped momentarily and gathered his breath for what was about to come, "I'm sorry," he said.

Slowly, two blue eyes met his gaze, and contact was reestablished. However, Tails kept his lips tightly sealed. He only looked, and studied the hedgehog's face, taking in even the most subtle of features.

At the sight of his friend's inactivity, Sonic carried on.

"I'm sorry for not keeping my promise to you back then, and even though I know it was an unfortunate accident, I can't help but wonder if everything could have been avoided altogether had I told you what to do in case of separation beforehand…Sometimes, things like that slips my mind because of my own ignorance. I just…I just assumed, wrongly so, that you know what to do in that situation…You're always so smart and knowledgeable about everything that I sometimes forget you're still a boy, younger than me…"

"Knowledge equates neither wisdom nor experience, Sonic," Tails interrupted gently before he even realized he had said it. In an instant, a hand flew toward his mouth, and he stopped himself from uttering anything else. The hedgehog, however, did not seem at all bothered by the cut, instead, he merely nodded solemnly in agreement, a sultry look upon his face.

"I know, Tails, but at the time, I forgot in my excitement, it was my bad…I wanted to hang out with you so badly that I left out the details and the contingency plans and all…you know, I'm just not good at thinking things through, I just…do, go along with the flow, and that time, I messed up royally and you had to pay the price for my negligence, so for that, I'm sorry," he stopped again to get out a long exhale of air, "And by the way, another thing I want to admit to you, Tails, is that I know that I am not the perfect or even a legitimate guardian figure to you, and there are so many things I don't know about taking care of someone…"

The sudden noise of knees hitting hard against the underside of the table caused both hedgehogs to look, and they widened their eyes at the sight of the fox cub standing up at full height with both trembling hands placed on the table, his face paler a few shades as though the blood had been drained from his systems.

"You're not sending me away, are you?" he asked, terrified by the prospect.

"What? No!" Sonic answered instantly, "Of course not! I can never do that. Heck, you're my friend, _family_, and I'm not giving that away! I'm ignorant, Tails, and while I'm foolish enough to jump into a deathtrap for fun, I'm not stupid enough to throw away the one thing I've found that can actually make me feel alive."

Those words, spoken with sincerity and pain, reached Tails and made him calm down. His shaking and terror dissipated, replaced by surprise and then…A small smile formed on his face, followed briefly by a single throaty snicker that bubbled inside him.

"You mean that?" asked the fox, but it was purely out of formality, not confirmation.

"Yes, and I would love to stay with you and know you better, that is, if you allow me to, Tails," Sonic added, and the swift smirk that appeared on his face once again turned down. His expression became serious again.

"You're serious," the cub uttered, shocked. Sonic nodded.

"Yes, I suppose it's high time I learnt how to restrain myself a little, contained my excitement to avoid possible disasters that can be avoided…And I think I'm going to need a mentor and a friend to guide me through on that."

Tails' face fell, and the smile was dropped, making way for a frown to take over, "But…I…I'm not that good at self-restraint, either…I hurt you…"

"Hey, chill. Like I said, kiddo, it was a mistake, and I treat it as such. But sometimes, mistakes are wonderful opportunities to learn, to remember, and to prevent the same mishaps from taking place again, at least I learned that lesson the hard way…" Sonic chuckled, humorless.

"I know I'm being a friend to you, but it's not enough. You need more than just a friend to help you, Tails. So please, teach me, guide me, _allow _me to be that person and let me understand you and help you."

To emphasize his point, Sonic stood up and made his way around the only obstacle between himself and his younger friend. To his greatest delight, Tails did not move, and his happiness soared even further when Tails did not shy away from the hand placed on his shoulder. The child's eyes were moist, but it was the upward curves at either corner of his lips that captured Sonic's attention. They were tiny, yet more than enough to instill a deep-seated feeling of hope into the blue speedster.

Leaning back and extending one hand forward, Sonic then looked at Tails and grinned, not quite as beaming as he usually did but certainly no less sincere.

Tails' eyes were directed toward the proffered hand briefly before they went back to Sonic's expression. Then, with a smile, he accepted it, giving the other's a firm handshake.

"I'd love to," said Tails, and the subdued thin-lipped grin on the hedgehog's face stretched wider, turning into a real smile. "Please take care of me," the child added.

"And please, take care of me," Sonic replied with a nod.

"Alright!" came the sudden exclamation that made the two brothers jump in surprise. They had forgotten the presence of a third party inside the kitchen, and it was a rowdy wake-up call.

"Amy!" said Sonic, appearing irritated as he looked at the female hedgehog, "You almost scared Tails out of his fur!" the fox looked at him, surprised. But soon, the expression melted away, replaced by a smirk when he spotted the look of pure amusement on his best friend's face.

"Excuse me, Mr. Sonic the hedgehog, but did you just get about six or seven centimeters taller for a few seconds? I guess you did, didn't he, Amy?"

"Yup," replied the girl gleefully. Sonic groaned and shook his head, but said nothing in his defense. The slight upward twitch on his lips, however, did not go unnoticed.

"Ha ha ha, joke at the blue hedgehog's expense, sure, go ahead," he said with a pout and even gave his voice a bit of an edge.

"Well, you can't deny the truth, Sonic," Amy retorted lightheartedly and gave her friend a nudge. "Oh, and now that you two are on good terms again, I think it's a good cause for celebration!"

"Uh, thanks but no thanks, Amy," Tails chimed in, offering the excitable girl a sheepish grin, "We're good here."

"Hmm, I know, but staying confined in your house is not exactly good for anything, Tails. How about you head out to a place where nobody's around and take some time off, immerse yourself in nature and cool your nerves?" she suggested, and the paleness that had decorated Tails' skin returned.

"But…But…I…" he stammered. Sonic, noticing distress, drew him into a warm side-hug and kept him grounded.

"Amy," the hedgehog said, shooting a glare at the girl. Amy, however, was not intimidated.

"I know you have difficulties going outside, Tails, but like I said, you can't stay shut inside this place forever. You need to get out sometimes, and you need to get used to it.

"But…the people…"

"Hear me out, okay. I'm not saying you need to go to Station Square. I know you still don't feel comfortable in crowded places, and that's why I'm suggesting you go to somewhere not crowded, somewhere natural, rural for example. You can start small, baby steps first and get used to meeting a few people first before you feel comfortable enough to try out the cities. How does that sound?"

"That…sounds reasonable, actually…" Tails admitted, entertaining the idea with interest. And Sonic looked convinced as well.

Amy, not even waiting for further prompts, continued, "And I know just the perfect place for a hangout. Do you have a computer or a laptop here with you?"

"Uh, sure…there's one laptop I made in my workshop."

"Great, can I borrow it for a sec?" Tails nodded and disappeared into his private workplace to fetch the device. Within minutes, he was back, and Amy pulled up a video online, showing the two boys the latest news.

"Take a look at this," she said and pressed play.

"…And everyone here is anxiously waiting for the eventual arrival of the mysterious yet absolutely breathtaking sight of the ever moving Angel Island as it passes by. This mysterious floating island is perhaps one of the greatest wonders in the world, if not the most due to its unusual…" the video was paused there, and Amy turned back to look at her two friends, expectant and excited.

"Well? Isn't it exciting? Angel Island is about to reach the southern region."

"Uh…yeah?" said both boys, bewildered.

"Oh come on! How can you not be impressed by that marvel of nature!" Amy exclaimed, pointing at the silhouette of the gigantic floating island caught on camera. "An entire island that floats in the air, with absolutely no viable scientific explanations at all, I mean, how amazing is that? And the best part of this package deal is, nobody knows who or what dwells there, and nobody's even been able to get close before because according to them, the terrains are just too treacherous for aircrafts."

"And you want Tails and me to fly there for fun…" Sonic said, incredulous and skeptical, "That doesn't sound pretty safe to me…I mean, sure, me alone, yeah, I'll love to explore that place, but to bring Tails into this…"

"Oh, it's just a suggestion, Sonic," Amy replied, "That's one of the best places I think of that's beautiful and far away from civilization. Who knows, it may be deserted up there, or the people there won't mind what visitors look like."

"Or they can throw weapons at us for invading their lands," Sonic retorted. "Anyway, I know it's nice and all, but there are too much risk involved, and I will not allow Tails to…"

"Hey, Sonic, look at that!" Tails shouted all of the sudden, and within the stretch of a millisecond, Sonic was already by his side, staring at the screen.

"What's wrong, buddy?" he asked, his face set in a serious mask of stone.

"What do you think of when you see that?" Tails asked and pointed at something captured on the camera as well. The strange object was smaller and almost entirely obscured by the island, making it easily missed if one were not looking with a critical eye. Sonic squinted hard against the screen, but still, he could not identify the object, but it looked familiar, especially the peach-colored top part that protruded from a round, red shape on which it perched.

"I don't know. It's too blurry to make out anything, but I know one thing, though, that's not natural. And I have a stinking feeling I've seen it before."

"Me, too. Here, let me pull it up a bit," Tails said and got to work.

"You can do that?" Amy gasped, stunned.

"Ah, this is my laptop, and I run some programs I designed, which can modify resolutions of images for better viewing pleasures. They're still faulty, but I'm working on those glitches…And…voila!"

The image zoomed in on the smaller, more curious object and the images became clearer as well. And then, what they saw stunned them to speechlessness. On the screen was a human man, bald, sporting a very extravagant mustache and a pair of round-framed colored glasses. On the one-man carrier in which he was seated was a very familiar insignia, one that all three friends had no trouble recognizing.

"Doctor Robotnik!" they exclaimed at the same time when the initial surprise had come to pass.

"What's he doing getting close to Angel Island?" Tails wondered, his face assuming an expression of thoughtfulness and grimness at the same time.

"Well, don't know, but I'm pretty sure he's not there for sightseeing. Whatever's on that island must have caught his attention, and I'm gonna find out exactly what it is."

"And I'm coming with you!" Tails said, decisive and determined.

"No, kiddo, it's dangerous, and I would hate to see you get shot down again."

"He got shot down?" Amy asked, horrified, and looked at Tails, marveling at the fact that the fox was still alive and physically well. Tails did not seem to notice her concerned gaze, however, for his attention was completely on his best friend. Stepping forward with a stride filled with conviction, the young inventor looked directly into Sonic's eyes and spoke once more, keeping his voice even and firmly maintaining eye contact.

"I know it's dangerous, but like last time, someone has to pilot the Tornado for you to fight Robotnik's forces, Sonic. You can't do everything on your own, not anymore."

"But I don't want you hurt again," Sonic started to protest, but his attempt was half-hearted at best.

"Nor I you," Tails continued, his voice softer this time. "We just promised to take care of each other just a few minutes ago, to look out for each other together, or is your memory as quick as your feet when it comes to moving on?"

Sonic grew silent, and any desire to fight back left him at that point. After contemplating, the hedgehog finally nodded looked at Tails, taking in his expression of decisiveness and finality. He smiled proudly.

"Okay, okay, you won. We'll find out what that guy is up to and shove our sneakers up his bouncy butt like last time, sounds good?"

"Inviting," Tails replied instantly. "I'll get the Tornado ready for take-off now."

"And bring the Chaos Emeralds with you as well. I would hate to leave them here unprotected and unattended to. Robotnik has goons everywhere, so it's not a safe bet."

"Roger that," Tails said with a mock salute before disappearing outside.

"He's different than usual," Amy commented, torn between shock and amazement at the sudden shift in attitude in the young fox.

"Yeah, he's full of surprises," replied Sonic. "When it's about himself, he's shy and a bit of a loner, but when someone else is involved, even complete strangers, well, that's how he acts, and this is the mild version. Wait until you see the one hundred percent serious mode. He'll give any veteran pilots a run for their money and reputation."

"Hmm, he's an incredible kid…You're lucky, you know."

"I know, I'm lucky to have such wonder friends," Sonic said before hastily adding something else, "Sorry for cutting this meeting short, Amy, but I gotta go now. Oh, but before that, let me thank you for the pep talks you gave us…"

Before Amy could say anything, she felt something soft pressed against her forehead, and it took her a few seconds to realize what was happening. Sonic…her Sonic…her idol was kissing her…on the forehead! That thought alone and the thought that it actually happened, not some make-believe fantasy, caused her feet to wobble, and her face flushed in a deep shade of crimson, outshining even the pinkness of her outfits.

"S-Sonic…" the girl suddenly found herself stammering, but before any more words could get out of her constricted and dry throat, a blue blur passed by along with a muttered "Thank you," shortly followed by the sound of the door slamming shut.

Silence returned to the entire place, and it was only then that her strength gave out completely. Slowly, Amy sank to the floor, a dreamy look taking over her youthful and blushing face.

"Oh Sonic…He does care about me…" she whispered wistfully, smiling to herself where she sat. And she would stay seated for a while as well, her mind replaying the strange yet welcoming softness of her idol's lips brushing gently against her forehead. The impression made was already imprinted deep inside her mind, stowed away as one of the most precious of her mental treasures.

Once the reverie had passed, Amy made a move to stand up, wobbling a little when she was on her feet again. In her motions, she did not see the two Tarot cards that accidentally fell out of her back pocket, having been pushed up when she had slid down. The two cards fell to the ground and landed on their back, with the pictures shown. And had she possessed enough composure to look back at that time, she would have seen the future the cards predicted.

Behind the flustered hedgehog's back, both The Fool and The Strength were lying side-by-side and both were in their upright positions – a heralding of the events that were to come.

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**Author Note: **

**_Okay, if you have finished the chapter, then you know where this chapter leaves off. And also, since I'm not planning on doing any actual novelization of any games because that would take a very long time – a luxury I currently do not have much since everything's getting hectic around here – I'm just writing this to say that this chapter also marks the end of the Classic Era where only Sonic, Tails and Amy are featured. The following chapters after this one will be set in the Modern Era where the rest of the cast will make their appearances in different shorts and small story arcs (If I have time to write any, of course – just a fair warning). That ought to spice things up instead of just having Sonic and Tails here (although they are my faves!). Well, that's it. Thank you again for everyone who has read, commented, followed or favorited this story. Let me say it is an honor to have your recognition! **


	19. Among Friends - Chapter 1

**Hullo! As promised in the last chapter, the Classic Era stories between Sonic and Tails have alas reached their conclusion and shall not be continued. And from this chapter onward, various stories about different characters shall be told, with a twist of my own overactive imagination mixed in of course. And to start things off, I shall begin with another character of my personal favorites - Silver the hedgehog. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter, for I sure did when I wrote it! Again, all manners of comments are welcome and appreciated, as long as they are civil. :)**

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Silver Chapter 1: Among Friends

Winter had come early this year, he noticed as he casually and slowly treaded along the snow-filled pavement of the futuristic city of Metropolis. A gentle gust of wind carrying the faint scent of pine trees and the cool, frosty chillness in the air blew over his face and toyed playfully with the five crown-like quills standing up on his head, making them sway lightly against its silent assault. Mere seconds later, a stiffed yet unmistakable sound of 'achoo,' was heard coming from the anthropomorphic pedestrian, echoing hollowly in the almost empty streets. He momentarily halted his jogging pace.

"Man, it's cold this year…" Silver the hedgehog mumbled briefly to himself as he wiped his tickling noise, pulled up the collars of the ivory long coat he was wearing and fixed the cyan-colored scarf he had wrapped tightly around his neck for protection against the chilliness of the weather.

Still stationary, the silver hedgehog then took a few seconds of his time, noting to himself that his meeting with a friend was still half an hour away, thus allowing for some personal time for sightseeing and daydreaming, to stop and admire the pure, mystical and almost dream-like beauty of the winter city that stretched before his vision, covered mostly in a pure shade of whiteness from the early season's blanket of snow. The normally busy streets were also empty of people going about their daily businesses, making the atmosphere strangely yet nonetheless welcomingly tranquil and peaceful – just the way he enjoyed.

Unconsciously, the corners of his lips twitched upward, and his eyes glowed with a sense of innocent joy not so dissimilar from that usually displayed by a young child when he is given the thing he most desires. And perhaps that was the case in this situation, for now, at this exact moment in time, Silver thought he had been given just that, his deepest dream made real – peace and prosperity to the future world. The curves on his lips stretched further as his amber gazes greedily took in the enchanted scenery before them.

One stray snowflake lazily swooped down from below and landed on top of the unsuspecting hedgehog's nose, making it twitch slightly at the sudden sensation of chilliness.

Another muffed sneeze echoing amidst the silent surroundings was produced, and it was swiftly followed by an amused snicker, young and carefree.

More and more snowflakes, as if magically attracted by his inviting laughter, began to fall down, heavier this time, and they landed on the exposed snow-white fur atop the hedgehog's head. The chills that invaded his systems were unexpected, but not at all unwelcoming. In fact, the gentle rain of snowflakes only made him direct his eyes heavenward and laugh all the more happily at the beautiful sight.

And then, with a subtle flick of his wrist, the still airborne flakes – those that had not yet stuck their landings in time before their unfortunate suspension – froze where they were staying afloat, entrapped in place by the illuminating cyan linings created by the manifestation of his psychokinetic energy.

Another swing of hand was made, and the captured wintery creations of Mother Nature began to dance, hovering around the white-furred hedgehog.

"Hmm, maybe a small show of fireworks will brighten up my day…" Silver muttered softly to himself before he moved his glowing hand upward, mentally commanding the flakes to move in accordance of his will. They continued their circular dance-like motions above his head all the while. Once they had reached a high enough altitude according to his opinion, Silver snapped his fingers and simultaneously, all of them exploded. Numerous specks of snowy dust fell down, glistening almost magically against the sunlight, and decorated his coat of white in luminous sparkles as they landed.

Silver looked at himself and chuckled once more. At that moment, in his peripheral vision, he could spot the scarce presences of nearby pedestrians, and they were staring at him. He turned around to greet their gazes, and was met with a look of unadulterated admiration coming from the beaming face of a human child no older than six. He smiled back and waved slightly in silent greetings, overjoyed to see the boy waved back, his tiny hands frantically moving back and forth, and his smile growing more radiant as they looked at his still glowing gloves.

"Come on Josh," said the mother who was carrying him in her arms, "Let's go, it's getting cold out here, I wouldn't want you to _contract_ some sudden _strange_ _sickness_ in the air," she added decisively, but not before sending a subtle glare at the lone telekinetic hedgehog standing in the snow. The look lasted less than five seconds, but the meaning conveyed was not at all lost. It was, in fact, clear as day. He turned to look at the other human and ordinary anthropomorphic folks scattered about, and they, too, silently left the scene, their faces hidden from his line of vision as they left.

The luminous glows encasing his hands disappeared, letting the newly-created snowy powders fall down and sparkled against his pure-white fur, enchanted by the sunlight. The smile left his face for a brief moment before it was put back on once more. In an almost absentminded manner, he smacked both palms against his flushed cheeks to rid the lingering sleepiness he had contracted for waking up early. Releasing yet another soft chuckle to himself, Silver's eyes looked up and roamed the vacated streets once again before he raised his hands and resumed his playful dance with the snow and wind.

"Hmm, it wasn't bad, but I suppose I can do better…Now let's see if I can make a bigger diamond dust explosion this time…" said the young boy, his face expressing pure joy and happiness at the simplicity of his self-humoring gestures. Silver raised both of his hands up, ready for another unleash of psychic wave aimed at a huge pile of snow nearby, but before he could, a foreign beeping noise sounded, interrupting his focus.

Reaching for his pocket, Silver fished out a phone and pressed answer. "Hello," he said.

"Have you arrived at the academy yet, my friend?" asked another voice coming from the receiver, low and clear and belonging to a man in his forties.

"Oh, hello doc Adler," Silver replied with a cheerful touch to his tone and resumed walking again. "Yeah, I'm about to. It'll just take another ten minutes to reach the main gate."

"Okay then, I will see you once you've arrived. Everyone here is also eager to see you, too, Silver. They have been looking forward to your visit in earnest, some more than the others as you can imagine," said the other man with a light-hearted chuckle. The throaty sound of happiness seemed contagious, for Silver, too, could not help but join his friend in his laughter.

"Oh, trust me, Abel, I can't wait to see the kids again, either. It's been a while after all…Okay, I'll see you in ten. Silver out."

With that, the hedgehog turned off his phone and put it away. With a smile more radiant than ever, Silver the hedgehog continued to make his way toward his designated destination. Softly whistling a self-taught tune, he treaded along the snow-painted road, making small explosions of snowballs as he went.

…

True to his words, exactly ten minutes later, Silver found himself standing at the enormous gates erected in the middle of two equally impressive brick pillars, both of which were old and worn yet still perfectly durable after generations of withstanding the trials of time. On each respective gate perched a duo of majestic stone eagles showing off their meticulously carved wings to welcome visitors to the mansion which lied beyond. Even though he had been here numerous times, the sights of the gates alone had never once failed to make an impact on him, along with a wave of warmth and nostalgia.

As soon as he approached the gate, a security camera immediately zoomed in and captured his image. He noticed, and with a smile, Silver turned toward the camera and waved.

"Hello, my name is Silver the hedgehog, and I am here by the request of doctor Abel Adler," he spoke casually into the device. It beeped for a few seconds before turning away.

The gates opened by themselves, and Silver walked inside.

"Hmm, this place hasn't changed a bit, huh…" he once again mumbled to himself as he walked, his eyes lightened up with wonders and reminiscence darted around and surveyed the spacious courtyard, vacated due to the massive amount of snow. It was not unlike the scenery outside in the city, filled chiefly with one shade of pure white. At the end of the space stood a huge castle-like construction built entirely from bricks, its image was that of an ancient building. The brownish red shades of the countless bricks that constituted the entire castle glimmered under the sunlight, counteracting the excessive white that covered the area and thus making the construction stand out in the background. Its antique image also stood in stark contrast with the modern, futuristic atmosphere of the city within which it situated. Every time he set foot in this location, Silver could not help but think he was no longer in his own timeline anymore, but rather the sixteenth century of old, and he found that he enjoyed the feelings.

Silver picked up his pace a little more and approached the building's door. He knocked and waited for it to open, all the while taking in more of the fresh taste of air of the early morning. Yet another thing the humble hedgehog adored – simple pleasures that pleased him more than any piece of advanced technology he was given. Artificial beauties of his timeline had their charms, he knew, but in his heart, raw beauty of the untouched nature still had a special place reserved, especially after everything – every single bud of flowers blooming in all of their earthly glory at the dawn of spring, every scene of majestic mountains at the time uninhabitable and unsoiled by outside forces, every arc of land void of human presences, every blade of grass swaying lightly as they played conducted their joyous waltz with the ever playful gusts of wind and more - he had bore witness to in his glorious and almost legendary journeys across time and space.

And being within the area that made up the massive dwelling made him feel that he was no longer in the future, but at the long distant past, one where everything was breathtaking and raw, untouched, unsoiled, unspoiled by contaminations.

He looked up and closed his eyes in bliss, getting ready for yet another long intake of breath, but then, something extraordinary happened, and he was caught off-guard.

A soft sound of "swoosh," was heard, and immediately followed by a huge portal that opened up right below the ground on which he was standing, and within seconds, he was swallowed whole by the unearthly occurrence. However, the smile on his face grew all the wider as he fell through and disappeared into the man-made distortion of space.

Another "swoosh," and the portal appeared high in the air inside a large dining room with an air of aristocracy capable of fitting an entire town, complete with a huge, currently empty clothed table which stood regally and took up most of the space in the middle of the chamber. Gravity took hold, and Silver found himself being dragged toward the ground.

Before his body made contact with the hard floor, however, it was covered in the familiar coat of luminous cyan energy which challenged even gravity itself. Gently, Silver slowed his fall and landed gracefully on two feet. His smile remained plastered to his face as he gazed around the empty dining hall.

Or at the very least, _seemingly_ empty.

"Alright, you guys," he said with a mock tone of reprimanding, his amber eyes narrowed, not in anger but in amusement. After a short pause to see whether his attackers would show themselves willingly or not, he added. "Come on out, I know you're all hiding somewhere inside this room, since that portal just then was clearly an open invitation sent and received. Now, I'm sure that you don't want me to flush you out, so I'll give you until the count of ten to turn in on your own accord and settle this matter peacefully, capisce?"

Contained giggles were heard all around him, but Silver pretended not to notice. In a nonchalant manner, he shoved both hands into his coat's pockets and walked around the room, his glinting eyes jumping from places to places, landing on each and every piece of furniture within.

The countdown started, punctuating with each and every subtle noise he made when his feet touched the floor. The giggles grew a bit louder, and so did Silver's grin.

"…Five…Four…Three…" his voice echoed within the vacated space, and by now, the hands inside his pockets were glowing radiantly in anticipation for what was about to come.

"…Two…" a brief pause, and then, "…One…Time's up! You're all under arrest!"

In an instant, countless shouts and yells of defiance erupted from all fathomable directions, shattering the illusion of silence that had been covering the hall only seconds ago. Silver then found himself situated right in the epicenter of a large-scaled and vicious onslaught of snowy projectiles, launched by the speedy shadows that had just emerged from their hiding positions.

Anyone else would have been taken by surprise by this sudden ambush, but Silver, unfortunately for his attackers, was not just an ordinary hedgehog. Even in the midst of the storm of snowballs, his confident grin remained stuck to his lips, and the glint of humor and childish joy shining brilliantly from his amber orbs intensified.

"Not bad," he commented his opponents' attempt for a brief second before he made his move. "But not good enough," Silver added as he took his hands out of his pockets and held both limbs forward.

In one single second time itself seemed to freeze, and the room was magically lit up by beautiful and almost ethereal glows of cyan lights. All incoming projectiles halted and floated around the smirking hedgehog.

"Time to get a taste of your own medicine, kiddies!" Silver shouted excitedly and with a swing, he returned the spheres of snow back to their original shooters.

The first batch of balls landed squarely yet gently on the midsections of a small rabbit, a lynx, and several other anthropomorphic children ranging from mammals to birds.

"Sue, Jeanne, Dranco, Francis, Lumina, Rico, Haylen, Hannah, Erik, Landon, you're all out, oh, and Sue, thanks for the invite to this mayhem," said Silver as he called out the names of the hit children, making them groan in disappointment. The frowns only lasted for a brief second, however, as they obediently complied and stood still at the corner, watching Silver in his valiant attempts to capture the rest of the kids lurking about in the dining halls.

The indoor snow war raged on, but never once did Silver allow a single projectile to breach his almost impenetrable telekinetic defense. Any balls that got close immediately got deflected and sent hurling straight back at the launchers with deadly precision, effectively taking them out of the game as well.

Only five minutes later, the corner of the dining room was filled with more than twenty kids of varying ages and sizes, all of them pouting adorably as they wiped the snow off their clothes. Like the initial captives, however, their frowns were soon reversed upward within seconds. Their eyes danced across the room as they watched the ensuing battle between Silver and the last two remaining children before them, all the while loudly cheering for both teams.

"Well well well, and here we are again, Evan and Erin, the notorious Blizzard Siblings, I should have known where the endless ammos came from the get-go, very very sly of you," said Silver as he looked between the two oldest of the children but still a few years younger than he was. They were a pair of snow foxes with their respective powers over ice and snow, and from the way they were acting, Silver had long reached the conclusion that the duo was indeed the masterminds behind his capture and ambush. "I see you still haven't lost your conniving tendencies, huh…"

"No way, Silver," said the boy with a confident grin that could rival Silver's as he jabbed a finger at the older hedgehog in a challenging manner. "Today is the day I'm going to win!"

"_We're_ going to win, for the sake of the children here and everywhere!" Erin corrected her twin brother and crouched down on all four, her tail swishing back and forth, her excitement and joy evident with each movement. With a cry in an attempt to intimidate the lone hedgehog, which Silver found to be more geared toward the cute side rather than the aggressive equivalent, the two snow foxes summoned more snow spheres from the air with their innate abilities. The cheers and yells in the background got louder at their displays.

Silver chuckled again, "Now wait a minute here, when did I become a bad guy who picks on children?" he asked, humored by the little ones' antics. "In any case, I suppose I should offer my congratulations on your control, kiddies, you seem more proficient at handling your powers than the last time we met."

"We've been practicing," replied the twin simultaneously with proud smiles on their faces. "And you're about to know how much we've grown."

"Bring it!"

The challenge was issued, and instantaneously, the conjured orbs of snow came together to create a massive ball, almost twice the size of Silver himself – a considerable feat for ones so young. Outwardly, the grin stayed glued to his face, inwardly, on the other hand, he was immensely impressed, more than before, by the amount of control the siblings were demonstrating.

"Take this!" the duo exclaimed and brought their hands down. Accordingly, the massive object followed their commands and lunged toward Silver's position.

"Lesson time, while it's good to be confident, kids," said the hedgehog as he raised both his hands in the air and conjured a multitude of crescent-shaped psychic knives with his own psionic power, ready to dissect the incoming menace. "Overconfidence is a _major_ no-no, and for that, I need to _cut you down to sizes_."

With one push of his hands against the empty air ahead, the knives followed suit, charging toward the snow ball and within the span of a few seconds, shredded everything the huge ball into small, harmless chunks which could easily be avoided.

"Hey, no fair!" cried the siblings as they watched their creation got dissected by the hedgehog's energy knives, but before either of them could conjure something else, a flash of light appeared directly behind them, prompting them to look back.

Only to stare into a pair of playful amber eyes.

"Gotcha!" said the white hedgehog before he waved his hands, trapping both opponent within a cage made out of psychic energy.

"Hey! No fair!" cried Evan, "Teleportation is against the rule!" he continued to whine while the rest continued to cheer, more heatedly as time passed.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see the rulebook this time," was Silver's teasing reply. His smirk, however, quickly disappeared when Erin covered her eyes, bent down and let out a sound that he clearly identified as a choked sob. Immediately, he broke off the cage and held her in a warm embrace, his eyes looking all over her tiny body in search of any signs of potential injuries. His mind was racing in concern, worried that one of his Psychic Knives had hit her without his knowledge, and already, the young hedgehog was beating himself up inside.

"Hey hey Erin…Are you okay?" he cooed softly and tried to coax the fox into taking her hands off her eyes to no avail. "Are you hurt somewhere? If so, then you need to tell me so I can…" he carried on, but all of the sudden, the female snow fox's lips twitched upward into a devious grin, revealing her developing canine teeth much to his surprise.

"Psych!" she cried and wrapped her hands tightly around his neck. Within seconds, Silver found himself trapped within a prison made out of an oversized snowman, unable to move any of his limbs except for his exposed head, which seemed oddly disproportionate with the body. Erin was nowhere to be seen.

He turned around to look at Evan, only to see the snow-covered boy laughing in delight at the amusing sight before him. Soon, the snow piling up beneath his feet began to shift upward in an unnatural way. It took on a humanoid shape and soon, Erin emerged in one piece from the accumulated substance.

"What?" asked Silver, frozen in his shock.

"New abilities, Silver," the duo chorused in a sing-song tone, "Instant travel via snow assimilation, mister Abel helped us master that a while back. And now, we won! We won!" the two siblings sang and danced around the table, soon joined in by the rest of the gathered kids.

It took Silver a while, but once everything was worked out, he could only smile and shake his head fondly. Yet again, he had fallen for the fake tears trick, his mind chided. Though part of him knew the act of trickery the child had just pulled was mean, but he somewhat understood, knowing full well that children tended to go overboard with their competitiveness.

Unfortunately, that did not stop him for teaching her a small lesson about fair play and honesty. Hence, with his power, the hedgehog easily freed himself from his confine and flew down toward the celebrating children.

"You're right, I admit defeat this time," he said to the children, a small smile lightening up his expression, but then, his body began to shake, and his arms wrapped themselves tightly around his coat, seemingly asking for more warmth from the cotton outfit.

The joy of their triumphant victory faded quickly and abruptly as their eyes watched the oldest hedgehog shiver inside his clothing. At first, surprise was apparent in them, and then, that surprise swiftly made way for concern and in Erin's case, guilt.

"Silver?" she tentatively approached the hedgehog and asked, her voice soft and quiet so unlike that boisterous tone she had been using alongside her sibling. The cheers silenced, and all eyes were on the still shivering Silver.

In response, the hedgehog looked at her and smiled, "Hey kiddo, congrats on your win," he spoke shakily through his chattering teeth and trembling lips, and even though his shivering had started out as an act, it was becoming less so as the seconds ticked away. Conjured snow was definitely much colder than its natural counterpart, he inwardly grimaced, and the delayed effect of being trapped within it was beginning to show.

"Are…are you okay?" asked Erin once more as she placed a hand on his knee, her azure eyes shining with a sheen of moist produced by her own overwhelming concern, threatening to fall for real if the answer was not one she wished to hear.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," he replied quickly – a tad too quickly as he internally chided himself, noting the signs of a child on the verge of crying. Immediately, he crouched down to her eye level, willing his body to stop shaking and his voice to sound normal as best as could be.

His efforts did little for the child's comfort, unfortunately.

"I'm sorry…" Erin spurted out and threw her trembling arms around his head, "I'm sorry. I got carried away and…"

"Hey hey, kiddie," said Silver as he returned the embrace and gently stroke her back in slow and soothing motions. "I'm fine, and trust me when I say I've been through worse. It's just a slight chill, that's all. A few minutes in front of Abel's fireplace and I'll be warm and dandy again."

"I'm still sorry though…" Erin parroted her apology, looking downcast.

"Now now, like I said, Erin, I'm positively okay with being hit by your ability," he reassured, but then, a more serious look took over his facial features, and his amber eyes narrowed somewhat as they looked into the girl's orbs, "But still," he added softly but sternly, making sure that the child was listening, "What I'm not fine with is the deception you used to win. Playing tricks on others is okay sometimes if they are not malicious and made purely for the sake of _everyone's_ harmless fun – the _prankstee's_ included of course - but if you play tricks that make others hurt, either physically or emotionally, that's _cold_, not _cool_…" A pregnant pause took its reign, and Silver watched as the girl in his hands looked down and contemplated his teaching. She looked up again and apologized once more, her face downcast and no longer holding the same child-like radiance which she had worn, something that Silver believed should be present upon the faces of every child alive.

Certain that she had taken in his words to heart, Silver smiled and then, as a distraction to pave way for the joyful air to return, comically smacked his forehead loudly, his face contorted in an overly exaggerated expression of exasperation as he looked at the surprised and amused expressions of the youngsters surrounding him.

"Oh man, cold and cool…snow puns…Now I know I've been hanging around Sonic too long when I start cracking lame puns on instinct…" he said, and everyone burst out laughing at his sudden antics, even the guilty snow fox managed a small, sheepish smile for his effort. They had been told of his adventures with the legendary blue blur times and times again by their teachers and at times by Silver himself, and they knew of the renown and carefree personality of their blue-furred idol from an age long past.

"Now now, settle down, everyone," Silver said with a chuckle of his own, half-heartedly trying to get the kids to calm down from their latest outburst. Erin giggled as well before she looked back at him and held out her pinkie finger.

"I promise never to use that kind of trick again, pinkie swear," said the small child, and Silver's face softened, his features relaxed. Tentatively, his own pinkie finger wrapped around hers, and the sacred oath of honor was made amidst the sea of cheering witnesses.

"Good, I'm proud of you, Erin," said the hedgehog before he moved his hand and sent the child soaring through the air above. Erin flew and let out excited cries, soon joined by others' as well. The demands for flight quickly came in, and within seconds, the entire place was filled with unrestrained fits of laughter and kids encased in psychic energy projections soaring through the air. Soon, more and more of the kids joined in the open display of powers within the impervious walls of the dining hall, mixing the scene with an explosion of colors – white from the snowflakes created by those with cyrokinesis, red from the ones with flame manipulation powers, various spectrums from those with light-based abilities, and many more. Everything came together under one single roof, mixed with the endless laughter of the innocent.

Their fun dragged on for fifteen more minutes before the main door opened. Everything halted, and the kids were lowered to the ground gently.

A thick veil of silence blanketed all, and all eyes were fixed on the hovering being standing at the door, covered in all of his metallic glory and intimidation. The being was a grey-colored cyborg, and as a result, more than half of his body was machine with the only organic exception that could be perceived by the naked eyes was the right side of his face. In place of legs, his lower body was fitted with anti-gravitational devices, allowing him to stay afloat and move with ease. His piercing blue human right eye along with the camera-like red left eye surveyed the room in silence until it at last landed on the oldest child in the room – Silver the hedgehog, who now assumed the look not dissimilar to that worn by a deer when caught in the headlights.

The silence stretched on, and not a single kid did anything.

"Oh…Hey there doctor Adler," said Silver at last as he looked at the one who had summoned him to the castle.

"Silver..." replied the cyborg in a strange mixture of human and robotic voice, making him sound a bit monotonous and emotionless. In fact, the voice of the strange character was borderline threatening. Still looking at the addressed, he continued, "How many times have I told you not to instigate any play time with powers indoors..." he said, his human eyes narrowing dangerously as it looked straight at the oldest white-furred hedgehog present.

"Oh…I don't know," the white-furred hedgehog replied almost dismissively, "I suppose I've lost count after the tenth time, I guess," he casually shrugged. The other's eye narrowed even further, becoming almost slit-like as a result. Some of the kids took a few steps backward and steeled themselves for what was to come. His hand moved toward the metallic cranium, and again, he spoke up, his voice lower than before and admittedly much scarier as well.

"Hmm, according to my memory, the same warning has been issued exactly two thousand five hundred eighty four times during your all of visitations combined, and out of them, all issued warnings but one have been ignored, and act of blatant deliberation and ignorance. Now, my little friend, you know as well as I that itself is a gross violation of the academy's regulations, and as the headmaster, I am responsible for taking disciplinary actions against such outrageous transgressions in order to educate these youngsters to stray away from the delinquency that you seem to hold in high regards, mister _hero_ Silver the hedgehog."

The sounds of collective gasps could be heard from the children, and Silver's eyes narrowed challengingly as well, glaring intently at the towering cyborg as he hovered closer and closer. The latter stopped just inches away from Silver, and when up close, his frame greatly dwarfed the anthropomorphic creature immensely.

"What are you gonna do about it, doc?" asked the shorter hedgehog as he looked up, and once again, the noises of gasps reached his ears, but he paid the kids no mind, and instead focused his attention on the mechanical menace before him.

"I suppose I can think of something soon…such as…" doctor Adler stopped abruptly and swung his hands. In an instant, the tablecloth beneath Silver was tugged forward, causing the hedgehog to lose balance for a moment. Quickly activating his psychokinesis, Silver took to the air and unleashed his power on the various suits of armors decorating the dining hall. With no hesitation, he threw all of the collected objects and launched them forward at full force.

Curiously, the cyborg did nothing, and he continued to stay stationary, hands casually clasped behind his back, until the armors were close enough, almost hitting him. Then, both of his eyes lit up and from his body, a massive crimson wave of psionic power was unleashed, causing everything to come to a complete stand still. A smirk formed on his lips as he regarded his telekinetic opponent.

"You should know better than gauge mental prowess with the one known as the _Master_ _Mind_, my friend," he said briefly before mentally sending the objects back at Silver's location. Silver steeled himself for the incoming projectiles, but to his surprise, the suits of armors dispersed mere seconds before they hit him.

"There are more than one ways to employ the power of the mind and exploit the saying, "mind over matter," dear friend. Allow me to demonstrate…"

All of the sudden, the hands of the armors shot out and grabbed Silver's limbs tightly and yanked all of them outward, preventing any attempt at escape, even through the use of his renowned psychic abilities – the other's crimson aura was interfering with his power, preventing it from be activated properly. The hedgehog was, in short, trapped, and could not break free no matter how hard he struggled.

"Now then, let the punishment commence," said doctor Adler in his robotic, expressionless voice. With another leer, he took off both of Silver's shoes, leaving his feet bare. The doctor unclasped his hand and held one up before looking at the kids.

"Susan McKalin, Simon Frost, step forward," his voice boomed, and the named kids did as requested. The cyborg lowered his body and looked at them intently.

"You two have demonstrated excellent commands of your respective powers. Susan, well done on your mastery over the specific locations at which your portals can open and to which they can send your targets; and Simon, you have also displayed excellent control of snow generation and control over the moisture in the air. And as a testament of such recognition, I hereby appoint you to be the ones to carry out Silver's punishment. Do you accept this…scared responsibility? I pains me to ask this of ones so young, but it cannot be helped, it is for after all, for the good of all, mister Silver's included," he asked, voice stern and serious – too serious as Silver noted where he was trapped.

The kids looked at the doctor and with very conniving grins on their respective faces, nodded in agreement. And Silver would have lied to himself if he had said that their devious and conspiring grins had not sent a current of chilly dread inside him.

"Good, then here are your tools," doctor Adler resumed and held out his hands for the kids. "Use them wisely," he finished and opened his fists, revealing the dreadful weapons that could easily subdue the ever heroic Silver the hedgehog and even cause him to openly beg for mercy.

A pair of feathers…

Amber eyes widened in unconcealed horror at they studied the objects, now in the hands of the two children.

The hedgehog's body was then lowered and then forced to lie flat, his back pressed against the table and his limbs secured.

Susan and Simon loomed above him, wiggling the feathers in their possession dangerously and threateningly as they circled the trapped victim.

"Commence," ordered the cyborg doctor in his authoritative voice, and the kids stopped, positioned at the white bare feet.

"No…" Silver, eyes still wide with horror, muttered and shook his head frantically, but his efforts were all for naught. The feathers got in closer and closer until…

His uncontrollable laughter ripped out of his throat and the silence in the air, and occasionally mixed with the unrequited pleas that he made. His body twisted and turned violently in a desperate attempt to escape the tickling sensations radiating from his feet, but the armored arms that secured him in place were strong, immovable.

Soon, no other noises other than loud laughter, both from his own amusement and from the children's torturous treatments of his sensitive feet, left his parted lips, and the children chimed in as well, laughing merrily at his predicament.

And at that exact moment, no laughter was louder or happier than that of doctor Abel Adler as he joined his students in their moment of fun and innocence, and of course, his old friend Silver the hedgehog would have to endure this rowdy torture for a while longer…as always.

But as always, Silver never seemed to mind, and he only laughed all the more loudly, his voice soaring above the other noises his friends were making until fat tears leaked from the corners of his closed eyes.

He was, after all, among friends...


	20. Among Friends - Chapter 2

**Oh yes, a new chapter is complete and updated for the weekend. And now, my urges are contained, or at least they are for the time being. In any case, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter! :)**

* * *

Silver Chapter 2: Silver and Grey

After being subjected to fifteen long minutes of squirming in vain against the iron grips around his wrists and ankles and uselessly struggling against the feathers licking his bare feet, Silver was at last offered amnesty by his captors as long as he would give his word that he would be available for a play day planned for the future – an offer the hedgehog wasted no time in accepting.

"Okay, okay, squirts," said Silver as he stood up, wobbly but nonetheless happy. "I promise I'll spend an entire day with all of you after I'm back from whatever mission the doc has for me this time, okay?"

The chorus of outburst cheers that greeted his ears was deafening. Doctor Adler sent the children to their classrooms shortly afterward, much to their reluctance and disappointment before turning back to his little friend, a small smile on his face.

"I apologize for that, dear friend," said the half-human sincerely. Silver simply smiled back and shook his head, amused.

"Knowing you, doc, they probably roped you into this, and ouch, I think there'll be marks left on my wrists and ankles tomorrow," he complained with a sore look upon his face, twisting and wincing somewhat as he tried to massage away the residual sensation of numbness radiating from the mentioned parts. The other nodded in confirmation, an act that made Silver roll his eyes, yet the grin remained.

"Still, that was some pretty convincing acting back there, if being a headmaster of an entire academy filled with children with super abilities doesn't work out for you, you may want to consider becoming an actor in the future. I'm sure you'll be quite a likeable villain," Silver went on as he and Abel began to walk toward the latter's office.

"Hardly," replied the older half-human with a laugh, "You know that I am not an advocate of anything violent, my dear furry friend, and that my eternal dislike for violence unfortunately stretches to my preferences for entertainment and recreational activities, rendering me repulsed to anything that has one too many explosions."

"It's just a suggestion and a viable option for the future, doc Adler," Silver stated with a shrug. "But in any case, everyone seems to be doing well, huh, even the ones that came here a few weeks ago seem to be adjusting with the hectic lifestyle around this part just fine."

"While yes, Silver, the children here are, after all, very accepting and inclusive of their kindred spirits, and naturally, they take to newcomers like bees to honey in almost no time at all – a fact that never fails to astonish me. Also, as you have already seen for yourself, some children have demonstrated improved mastery over their wonderful gifts – gifts which they now embrace fully without fear or hesitation, regardless of others' prejudicial opinions."

"Yeah, I noticed," said the hedgehog as he shook the rest of the lingering snow on his coat to the ground, "And I suppose they have you to thank for that," he added, and the cyborg immediately let out a roaring bout of laughter.

"Nonsense, my friend, the efforts of one alone cannot possibly produce such delightful outcomes for those gifted youngsters. They are like rays of sunshine, fresh, warm and filled with life. No longer are they forced to hide within the shadows of doubts, of fear…Here, they are free to be who they are, and be _accepted_ as such. Even though I am now more machine than man, it still gives me a sense of joy that outshines everything I have felt throughout my life to see my beloved students mature every single day. As a teacher, nothing can give me more satisfaction than that simple fact, and I know this outcome is only made real through the combined efforts of every faculty member working here…" he paused and turned around to look at the white hedgehog behind, the corner of his lips stretching further upward.

"And of course," he continued, "Yours as well, Silver."

"Come on doc," the white-furred hedgehog huffed lightheartedly, "Let's be realistic for a second here. I'm not even present here that often, especially during the last week due to the whole timeline crisis and inter-dimensional catastrophe with the Ifrit and all, and truth to be told, I'm only the academy's part-time babysitter with a ridiculous pay check - something I believe we should have a discussion over, doctor," Silver humbly stated and gave his host a small disproving look, which the headmaster promptly ignored.

"Oh my deepest apologies, dear Silver. I did not know you found your wage here to be unfair…Perhaps I can rectify that. Now my friend, you tell me how many zeroes you want me to add, and negotiations completed."

Silver grinned and chuckled, "You're forty, and yet you act like you're fourteen or something."

The cyborg replied almost instantly, never missing a beat. His eyes glinted with a hint of mischief, greatly contrasting with his authoritative image, "And you, dear friend, are fourteen, and yet you already have a head full of grey hair from worrying too much about others around you."

"Excuse me, my fur is silver. S-I-L-V-E-R, memorize that, _old_ _man_" the hedgehog replied with a look of sternness decorating his facial features, but it soon melted away, making way for a relaxed expression, "And for your information, I don't like it when the more hard-working teachers here have lower salaries than a mere part-time worker such as myself, okay. It's about fairness."

"True…" Abel mused, "Their wages are _slightly_ lower than the amount that you're offered, but in return, they don't have to be the lone target of the children's rather violent games of supposed shooting practices during breaks or in other cases throw themselves in situations where one single misstep will most likely result in _instant_ _termination_, so I suppose the extra zeroes we added would sufficiently serve as well-earned compensations for your troubles as well as your living conditions, my friend. And as far as I know, nobody here complains about that matter of triviality."

"Well, I do and I am, aren't I?" asked Silver.

"Now, now, let's hurry to my office, I have cookies waiting! Miss Aberconway most certainly outdid herself this time!" said Abel before he sped up, forcing a frowning Silver to activate his flight to keep up. However, his frown soon dissipated as images of delicious, newly baked cookies filled his thoughts. Unconsciously, his tongue flicked across his lips.

The two arrived at the headmaster's office only seconds later, and as promised, Silver was offered a cup filled with newly-brewed tea along with a plate filled up with muffins of different colors, much to his delight. After a brief word of gratitude, the hedgehog reached for one and began to chew, his eyes closed in bliss as he savored the delicious sweetness exploding inside his mouth.

"Now then, let's get down to business, shall we, Silver?" said Abel softly, but the seriousness of his tone could easily be felt without the need for telepathy to decipher. Silver gulped down the sweet treat in his mouth and sat up, attentive.

"Sure, Superintendent Adler," he replied, and Abel chuckled.

"I'd rather we forgo the unnecessary formalities if you please. This is after all a friendly discussion held between friends here, and thus, Abel alone would more than suffice, but in any case, allow me to get to the point…On behalf of all members of the Time Guardians, I would like to offer you my sincerest gratitude for your invaluable assistance in preventing the dawn of apocalypse by undermining doctor Eggman Nega's nefarious plan to unleash the Ifrit into the past and wipe out all existences in our time. You have helped us once more in a situation so grave that even the bravest of my men could not accomplish, and for that I thank you, Silver the hedgehog," he said with a bow of respect. The young time traveler's cheeks were then covered in a tinge of red, which stood out in great contrast to his usual shade of white.

"It was nothing much…" he said, abashed by the compliment, "I was just doing my duty, that's all."

"Yes, duty that _none_ _of_ _us_ expected you to shoulder _alone_, and to be honest, we more than appreciate your help, and I feel the urgent need to say this aloud, to show _our_ recognition for your selfless acts of heroism, Silver," Abel continued, but then, his voice lowered, and his expression hardened.

"However, and please do not think of what I'm about to say as personal, I have mixed feelings regarding your involvement in this case. You are but an ordinary civilian, and a _teenager_ no less. It is supposed to be _our_ job to safeguard you along with everyone else, and yet you acted on your own, so hasty to throw your very _life_ on the line like that…Tell me, dear friend, don't you think it would have crushed these kids and me and everyone who knows you if something worse had happened to you during your latest time cruising trip?"

"But nothing serious happened, well, more serious than what I was subjected to anyway…The bottomline is that I was fine. Sure, I sustained some damage, but still, I'm walking now, with two legs and my heart's still beating…" Silver quite passionately protested, but Abel had long since discarded his amiable expression, and was now donning one of absolute authority.

"My friend, you were bedridden from extreme physical and mental exhaustion resulted from overusing your psychokinesis upon returning. Moreover, your body was littered with numerous burn marks and multiple other injuries I do not wish to list now, and as a consequence, you were unable to go here for _a_ _week_, Silver, and it pained me greatly to see you like that, to have to come up with some excuses – lies - to tell the children here regarding the causes of your sudden absence, stating that you were sick with a horrible flu. They were worried sick, and so were the teachers here who have known you for a long time."

Silver looked down at his reflection on the table, deep in thoughts as he contemplated the confession. The thin line that was his lips then began to curve, with the two corners moving downward, forming a frown, displaying disapproval, disapproval directed at none other than himself.

Abel sobered from his brief moment of frustration and took a breath, soothing the temper boiling within. His effort was successful, and he spoke up once more, his voice softer yet firm still.

"Silver, my friend," he began, capturing the hedgehog's attention once more, "Good intentions though you may have and upon which you act, and we appreciate your efforts immensely, but please, do consider the effects of your actions next time, especially about how such brash actions can impact others around you. You are not alone, and while your life is inarguably your own to decide, it certainly does not exist outside others' in the intricately woven web of life. The children here love you a lot, Silver, they look up to you, and I dare say, some may even worship you…"

Silver had to smile a little at that, but it soon faded away as Abel resumed.

"But they are simply too young, too innocent to know the differences between their own self-wrought fictions and the cruelty and mercilessness of reality. To them, you are invincible, but we all know you are anything but. Strong, yes, _powerful_, no doubt, but invincible, never…None is. Imagine the world crashing down around them should they find you severely injured or worse…That would be one wake-up call that would haunt them and us for life."

"…I understand…" Silver said at last, his voice muffed, barely audible. But then, his head lifted, and amber eyes shone brightly with determination and conviction unrivalled. Silver extended both of his gloved hands forward, both glowing with the familiar shade of cyan energy.

"However, I cannot simply sit still and do nothing while others around me suffer needlessly, either," he replied, voice filled to the brim with certainty and sincerity. "I was born with these powers – both a blessing and a burden rolled into one package - to change lives, and therefore, I should use those powers in ways that will benefit others the most. If I were to fall while doing my duty, then so be it…The children here would be sad, yes, that is an inevitable outcome, but still, I would die happy, content with the knowledge that at the very least they survive…that _everybody_ in the threatened timelines survives. One for millions - now that's one lucrative bargain if you ask me…"

"I don't," Abel cut in, but his guest paid his comment no mind and went on.

"…Their lives can be spared, and that they can grow up and mature and pursue and fulfill their dreams later on…"

A pregnant pause set in between the two, thick and suffocating.

"And what of your friends?" asked Abel, his soft voice tearing through the veil with its suddenness, "The ones you have made across time and space, now what about their feelings?" Silver simply smiled and leaned back against the backrest of his seat.

"Technically, I don't exist in their timelines yet, so what they don't know doesn't hurt them," was Silver's reply. Abel sighed audibly, having fully anticipated such an answer. Still, he did not have to like it.

"Like I said," the cyborg shook his head tiredly, but his voice carried neither trace of disappointment nor fatigue, only pure resignation to the fact, "You are fourteen, Silver, and yet, you already have a head full of grey hair," he continued with a small smile.

"Maybe," replied the psychic hedgehog with a grin in response to his friend's gesture. The cup of tea before him was then wrapped by a glow of cyan and flew toward his mouth. "But then again," he paused and took a small sip before he looked at his friend and smiled again, "Silver and grey are kind of hard to tell apart if one doesn't look closely enough."

"…That they are indeed…" replied Abel before he, too, emptied his own cup of tea, savoring the bitter taste of the comfortably warm liquid that traveled down his throat.


	21. Among Friends - Chapter 3 (Final)

Silver Chapter 3: Vacation

The hedgehog and the cyborg sat still in comfortable silence and enjoyed the rest of their treats. Silver repeatedly reached out and munched on the offered cookies with an enthusiasm not unlike that displayed by a child in the middle of a candy store. As before, as his teeth sank into the scrumptious crumbs of the sweet delicacies, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the heavenly explosion of flavors inside him. The two corners of his lips were seen with two visible upward curves, clearly expressing his delight. His entire posture was relaxed and laid-back as he leaned further against the backrest of his chair.

At that moment, he looked young, exactly as he should be. It was a sight that stood in stark contrast with the image he had just displayed a few seconds ago – that of a powerful psychic with an extraordinary burden to bear. Abel said nothing, and instead, opted to study his little furry friend where he hovered in private.

The oversized coat of white that hugged Silver's frame effectively covered most of his body, but within, he was certain there would be painful reminders of the previous journey. Silver did not seem to notice his watchful gaze and continued gulping down as many cookies as his stomach could hold.

Always one to enjoy the simpler things in life that hedgehog was, Abel thought briefly before he placed his cup down with more force than necessary. The soft clang it made as the bottom made contact with the plate forced Silver out of his blissful eating spree. After gulping down another cookie, Silver placed both hands on the table. His attention was gained.

Abel coughed politely into his metal fist and began.

"Silver, I called you here today because I wanted to talk to you about your, and do excuse me for saying this…your obvious martyr complex…"

"I have nothing of the sort!" the hedgehog protested at once, vehemently so.

"…And some attitude problems as well, which I must admit make for quite endearing personality flaws." Abel chuckled a little at the pouting expression on the other's face, but that humor was not meant to last. Soon, his seriousness returned, and he resumed.

"In any case, I want you to take a short vacation…" he began, and in an instant, Silver's head whipped back, his amber eyes staring straight at him.

"Vacation?" the hedgehog interrupted, appearing somewhat incredulous. He then laughed in absolute amusement before he talked again, "In case you forgot, doc, I just took a whole week off from work here. That's enough vacation for me already."

"Recuperation and vacation are two very different concepts, my friend."

"They practically mean the same to me, though," Silver shrugged dismissively, "Time off from work and practically wasted. There!"

"You are earnest, Silver, more so than any of my men, but still, you are still young. You should at least enjoy life a little more, enjoy your time being young, learn new things, open your mind to the world around you. You should not feel obliged to live your life for others alone."

"But I'm worried that the moment I go on this…_vacation_," Silver stressed and even air quoted the words for better emphasis, "Something bad is going to happen, like Eggman Nega…"

"In jail, my friend," Abel interrupted, "Isolated maximum security, without bail and currently awaiting trial, and let's hope he will receive a life sentence this time. Thus, I believe that he should stay out of your hair for a very, very long time."

"…What about unexpected troubles caused by some Time Felons that you're looking for, like that time thief Lupe the Deceptive or arms dealer Talon the Faceless or…"

"We have the Time Guardians for those things, Silver," said Abel gently and patiently. "You need not concern yourself with our responsibilities. Although, if you want, after you turn eighteen, you are more than welcome to officially join our ranks. I will gladly put in my words of recommendation for the appointment of one of the world's greatest psychic users."

"Ha ha, very funny, and this comes from the second most powerful psychic user himself," Silver huffed and rolled his eyes at the familiar offer, but secretly, he could not help but feel somewhat honored that his efforts and skills were recognized.

"You flatter me," said Abel with a small smile. "But let's not stray from the topic at hand, shall we? I still want you to go on a vacation to take your mind off things for a while. With Eggman Nega gone, and most of the known Time Felons are either safely situated behind bars or laying low, it is the perfect time for a break."

"I don't know," Silver admitted, torn between the prospect of taking a brief reprieve and the thought of getting ready for trouble whenever it might strike. "I can't just think for myself. There are just so many things to do here, like taking care of the children…"

"They understand, hence the promise for a full play date with you upon your return, and believe me, they performed admirably as negotiators," Abel said immediately and still holding on to his saint-like patience. Silver's antics might stem from good intentions, but his disregard for his own welfare could be infuriating at times, especially to those who knew him well.

"But…" Silver raised one finger up as he tried again to come up with another excuse. Abel would have none of it.

"As you can see, I have no butt, and as I see, your butt is currently on the chair, not your ears, my friend," he shot back in good humor, and Silver frowned, more annoyed than mad at the offhand jab. Silver looked at his friend, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not shake a decision that Abel had already made for him.

There was only one viable option left, and begrudgingly, Silver the hedgehog relented.

"Fine," he grumbled and popped another cookie into his mouth. He gulped and continued, "I'll go on this _vacation_, but only for _one_ day…"

"_Three_ days," the cyborg interjected.

"_Two_ days. Deal or no deal, it's your call. Take it or leave it." Silver said with finality.

"As always, you strike the hardest and most absurd of bargains when your own benefits are involved, and I don't mean it in a good way. Fine, _two_ days off work, and you can go anywhere you wish. No work, no mission, no fighting bad guys, just pure relaxation, are we understood?"

"I don't know why you're so fixed on getting me to stay still," Silver grumbled again.

"Unfortunately, someone's got to do that job, and let me say it is not easy to bring about that one single miracle."

"Okay, okay, stop the jabbing, doc," Silver complained, but Abel could see he was more or less amused by the prospect of getting a break from his hero work and his part-time employment.

"Oh, and the deal is effective immediately, so have the rest of the day off, and I'll see you after your forty-eight hours is up."

"Fine…But I…I have a small question if you don't mind," Silver asked, and Abel nodded. "Can I…well…travel to the past? Because let's face it, beside you, the teachers and the kids here, it's not like I have any other circles of friends in this timeline to hang out with…" he confessed, and for a brief second, a look of loneliness passed his face before it was wiped away by a smile.

Abel hummed thoughtfully and contemplated the idea, and when he looked at the hopeful look in the hedgehog's radiating amber eyes, his mind was made up.

"Sure," he said with a smile, and the smile that had formed on Silver's face grew all the wider. "But be very careful. I do not need to remind you of your interferences with past events, especially ones of great significance."

"I remember, Abel, I'm experienced in this kind of thing, so no need for your constant nagging," Silver replied, feigning exasperation. Abel eyed him with a certain amount of suspicion before he backed off and nodded once he was satisfied.

"Good," said the cyborg, satisfied, "Now wait here while I file a permit to officially authorize your use of time travelling. And then, you can leave."

Silver smiled and nodded as he watched the cyborg turned away. He popped another cookie into his mouth and happily chewed it, eyes once again closed in bliss. In his mind, thoughts about the past word began to emerge.

Internally, Silver knew he would be lying to himself if he said he was not, at the very least, _a_ _little_ _bit_ excited about his upcoming time cruising trip.

…

Two hundred years into the past…at the dock of Station Square…ten minutes until midnight…

"Night-vision to Darkshade and Arsenal, do you copy?" asked an anthropomorphic bat as she expertly hid her presence within the thick shadows cast by the numerous gigantic containers that were stacked up all around her, all of which created a complex maze-like formation in the specific area of the port in which she was currently lurking about. "Do you copy?" she repeated, and from her tiny earbud, a low, seemingly emotionless voice responded.

"I honestly don't know why you have to come up with those kinds of codenames for us. If you ask me, they're a complete waste of time and only serve to raise needless confusion, nothing more."

"Oh hush, you," replied the bat with a sigh, "It's more exciting that way like what they do in the movies, don't you think, Shadie?"

"Do _not_ call me that," Shadow's voice replied calmly from the other side, but in the bat's mind, she could clearly picture her solemn partner wearing the fiercest of his fearsome scowls as he spoke into his own earbud. That alone made her giggle, carefully stifled to maintain her cover.

"Aw," she cooed mischievously, "I think that's a lovely and quite suitable name for a cute, fluffy hedgehog such as yourself, don't you agree?" she added, teasingly.

"I am _not_ fluffy, and I am most certainly _not_ _cute_. I am the Ultimate Lifeform."

"Yeah, and all hedgehogs are supposed to be fluffy and adorable, and since you're the ultimate among them… well, you get the idea," she said teasingly, "Oh, and let's not forget your...unforgettable pom-pom version after the little incident with my club's plumbing system the other day, you know, the one you helped _wreck_. I still have some perfect blackmail materials saved up..."

"You know I have unobstructed visuals of you from up here, Rouge," replied the other's voice, calmly – dangerously so in her opinion.

"Oh," Rouge faked a cry along with a convincing look of surprise - a skill which she had had years of practice and could perform to perfection effortlessly. "Really? Tell me then, how do I look in this outfit? Alluring? Debonair? Mesmerizing? _Intoxicating_? Like a movie star?" she continued her relentless teasing and struck a pose for her partner to see. Another grumble entered her ear through her communication device.

"Like someone who's about to be shot," Shadow retorted dryly.

"Okay, okay, jeez, you're no fun at all. Live and learn to live a little, wouldja, _Shadow_?" asked the female bat with a playful roll of her eyes. The small, mysterious smirk stayed fixed on her lips. It was always fun to try and get under her eternally stiff and rigid associate's skin whenever possible, and tonight was no different from their usual routine of one-sided banters, much to Shadow's distaste. And as usual, the hedgehog tried to ignore her offhanded remarks and comments in favor of concentrating on the task at hand.

"Now that's one name I can accept," replied the hedgehog as he stood atop one of the container far away from his partner's current location. From his vantage point, Shadow had complete coverage of the dock below, including the rendezvous point where Rouge was scheduled to meet up with their target.

"Fine, fine, we'll drop the codenames thing then, mister Moody, seriously, you're just so insufferably grumpy to the point that you'll probably give the Grinch a run for his money," Rouge resumed her playful, lighthearted jokes before she grew serious once more, her eyes analytically studying the group of suspicious and menacing-looking creatures patrolling the dock from her hiding location within the cover of the darkness.

"You're in one of your moods tonight?" asked Shadow, sardonic. Rouge, however, took no offense at the remark and merely laughed it away, merrily even. If anything, she seemed to enjoy the dry sense of humor occasionally displayed by her partner.

"All jokes aside, Shadow, are you in position yet?" she asked, and on the other end, the dark hedgehog confirmed.

"I'm in position, and so is Omega," he said shortly as he crouched down, effectively disappearing from view altogether.

"Do you have clear visuals?" asked Rouge as she took a quick head count of the men her eyes could spot. Five were seen.

"Twelve guards in total," confirmed Shadow after a brief pause, "Five right before you, three walking around on the west side and another three patrolling on the east side of the dock. For small fries, they sure pack some heavy firepower, so stay sharp. As for our target, he has yet to show his face."

"Well, rumor has it our guy holds punctuality in high regards, and we still have hmm, three…two…one…" the countdown stopped at the exact moment the sound of a car approaching reached her sensitive ears.

"And speak of the devil. Can you confirm he's the one we're supposed to capture?"

"Wait a sec," Shadow said from where he was. With his binoculars, the stealthy hedgehog zoomed in on the newly arrived human and cross-checked with his pre-given data. It was a perfect match.

"It's him. Lorenzo Romero," Shadow stated.

"Big bad international arms dealer is here at last," Rouge muttered, "Then I suppose it's curtain up for me. I'm going in. Shads, you and robo-boy stay quiet and wait for your cue and then we'll be done sweeping this place in a flash. Over."

"Copy that. Over."

Rouge then left the sanctuary offered by the shadows and confidently walked out into the open, clad in an expensive-looking and captivating red business suit. Her posture was completely relaxed and her pace was firm, showing not a single trace of hesitation or worry as she approached her hostile-looking targets, a black suitcase in tow. Immediately, the henchmen's wary eyes were set on her, and seconds later, so were the mouths of their weapons. In the midst of dangers, a small smile slowly formed on the bat's face, and her eyes analytically studied the foot soldiers surrounding her.

A dozen men, a dozen lethal weapons, one objective, one target. _Simple_, she thought with utmost buoyancy. Her feet moved forward, her head held high.

The smile gracing her lips widened and grew from one of good humor to its more devious, conniving counterpart. Undeterred by the antagonistic presences around her, Rouge continued to walk closer and closer, her gait casual and at ease despite the gravity of the dangers to which she was currently being exposed.

But then again, there was nothing an experienced agent of her status had never seen before in her long years of service. In Rouge's mind, it was simply another day in the office, and she had just clocked in.

Mission started.


	22. The Hands of Time - Chapter 1

Team Dark Chapter 1: Apprehension

Rouge continued her advance, undeterred by the thick, suffocating auras exuding from the creatures around her. She eyed the high-tech weapons in their possession warily, but on the outside, the bat was totally at ease. She stopped right before the towering human, and undauntedly, Rouge looked up, nonchalantly meeting the intense glare her target was giving her with her trademark flirtatious smirk.

The human's eyes narrowed, studying her suspiciously.

"You're right on time, Signor Romero," said Rouge, "I'm impressed."

"Who are you, bat?" a bodyguard standing on the left swiftly growled at her. To instill further intimidation, the hound daringly took one more step closer to her current position and loaded his weapon. The distinct sound of _chung_ _chung_ that was produced as the action bar slide back and forth sounded chilling to her ears. Remorseless. Cruel. Cold.

It was a sound that chased most away, not drew them forward. Unfortunately, Rouge was not just anybody. And as a result, Rouge, in the face of the blaster pointed to her face, donned a mask of complete impassiveness, unimpressed by the criminal's attempt at intimidation. The woman casually turned her head to regard the hound dog, and still in the same unfazed fashion she had been displaying thus far, Rouge placed one hand on her hip and tilted her head, her eyes looking straight into her opponent's. No trace of fear or apprehension could be found in them as she peered deep into the guard's eyes, unblinking.

"Honey," she began, her voice monotonous and even, "The _adults_ are trying to have a serious conversation here, so if you don't mind, take that oversized toy of yours and go play somewhere else. And Signor Romero, kindly call off your dog before he does something _you'll_ regret."

"How dare you speak to the boss like that, you disrespectful little…" the hound growled back and stepped forward, but the snapping noise of Romero's fingers made him halt.

"Stand down, Hank," the human commanded, and begrudgingly, the henchman complied. He dutifully stepped back, but not after throwing another look of disgust at Rouge, whose smirk only widened in return.

Romero lit up a cigar and exhaled, releasing a thick screen of smoke that polluted the air around him before he gazed down at his opponent once more. His presence alone was impressive, Rouge noticed, truly befitting of a crime lord, and as he looked, the suspicion was clearly visible in his narrowed eyes. _He knew something_, she concluded.

"Where's Stefano?" the man asked.

"I'm afraid he's having his hands tied at the moment, so I was sent on his behalf to close this deal with you. I apologize for the lack of prior announcement, but with federal law enforcements on our tails, we were forced to limit our activities and dealings with our clients. I hope that you'll understand," Rouge answered calmly.

"Hmm, perhaps…And do tell, I don't believe I have had the pleasure of hearing your name, my lady. To whom am I talking right now?"

"Emily Fairchild," the bat replied without missing a beat, "I'm boss Stefano's personal assistant…very _personal_ assistant to be exact," she added with a low chuckle and a rather flirtatious smile before resuming, "So anything you can say to him, you can say to me, signore, and they shall be delivered without fail. After all, I'm really, really good at keeping my lips _sealed_."

"I smell a rat, boss. I think it'll be best if I just shoot this woman right now," said the guard, but Romero paid his remark no mind in favor of giving the bat a more thorough analysis, taking in every tiny exhibition of her body language and mannerisms in silence. Rouge's posture seemed to relax even more, despite the tension in the air, and spoke up with a humored tone.

"You do that, deary, and I'm sure you'll have quite a firework extravaganza to behold up-close," Rouge held up her suitcase and presented them to the men around her. "I'm not stupid enough to come here without some measures of protection to ensure my own safety. Inside this suitcase is what you've requested, cold hard cash," she said before turning the case around, allowing the criminals to see a small, beeping red light implanted on the surface, "And this here is a pretty nifty little explosive implanted onto the case," she resumed, "It has already been set to detonate if I don't enter the overriding sequence within the next…say, one minute. So pull the trigger, darling, and we'll all be celebrating Independence Day eight months earlier than expected."

The guards backed away a few steps, but their weapons were still on the target. Romero's glare intensified as his attention shifted from the bat to the ominous flickering light.

"And how do I know you are telling the truth, miss Fairchild?" Romero asked, his voice low and threatening.

"Please call me Emily, and you can check for yourself with my boss on the line here," Rouge answered and tossed him a secure prepaid mobile phone. Romero pressed the device into his ears and began to speak in a string of foreign language. The exchange between the two crime lords lasted only a few seconds, and when it was over, the imposing human turned his head back to regard Rouge once more, expression unreadable still.

"Tick tock, Signor Romero," she warned and tapped her fingers gently on her wristwatch, "Only forty seconds left until this baby stops blinking and all of us go _kabaam _into high heavens, so I suggest you make up your mind quickly."

Romero thoughtfully rubbed his stubbly chin for a while longer, lost in contemplation, before he raised his hand up and signed for his men to stand down. The guards surrounding Rouge pulled back immediately – exactly as planned, she mused.

"Thank you. Now that's what I like the most about gentlemen of high class such as yourself, full of understanding," Rouge remarked before she entered the sequence and stopped the countdown inside and at the same time, unlocked the case. The inside was stacked fully with, as she had said earlier, cold hard cash.

"Here you go. Exactly five million as agreed upon. Now where is our goods?" she placed the suitcase down before her and looked at the crime lord for answers.

"Right here, the very literal killing machine never before seen and equipped with only the latest technology, codenamed Umbra mark 1," Romero answered and signed for his men to take a large suitcase from the back of his private limousine. "This is simply a prototype, and we haven't got a chance to conduct a field test yet…" suddenly, the he smirked, cruel and sly. The instant shift in the air was felt, and Rouge immediately steeled herself.

"Therefore," the crime lord continued and produced a small remote from his tuxedo, his large thumb hovering above a button. Glancing down at Rouge once more, his grin widened, his eyes narrowed, beaming with killing intents. Right then, all manners of formality of sophistication belonging to a high-class gentleman that he had been putting himself off as from the beginning were gone, discarded in a single second. The façade was shattered, revealing the sadistic evil lying within.

He spoke again, "I do believe it's overdue for one, and you, _Emily_, shall be the first to experience firsthand how powerful and efficient this weapon could be and deliver the message to your boss."

His thumb pressed down on the activation button, and at once, the suitcase broke open. A screen of smoke was released, and Rouge backed off immediately. Upon closer inspection, the smoke seemed relatively harmless, for none of the criminals present even bothered with masks.

Immediately, one of her hand reached for the frame of the glasses she was wearing, ready to send the signal for her partners to commence their assault.

When the smoke cleared up, a silhouette shot up and landed right between her and her target. An android as advertised it was, with the height of an ordinary anthropomorphic and clad entirely in a smooth, reflective set of armor which easily allowed it to blend in with the shadows of the night. The only things that allowed the mechanical puppet to be seen by naked eyes at that moment were the numerous red lines of neon-like illuminations running along the length of its limbs and body. Its cold, emotionless eyes lit up and locked on to Rouge at once.

"What is the meaning of this?" she asked and continued to back away carefully.

"I apologize, miss Nights," Romero replied and patted the head of the android, "But I don't feel at all comfortable dealing with my clients through middle party. Direct face-to-face or none at all, and that code extends to even my closest of associates, so if you were truly on Stefano's payroll, you would have known this. So either you're a spy for one of my rivals, or a federal lapdog, whichever it is, I don't care, but I intend to find out. Perhaps I can even get something out of you in the end. Oh, and one more thing," his face twisted up at this point, one corner of his lips curved downward and at the same time, his brows knitted together, forming a disgusted scowl directed at his opponent, "_Nobody_ threatens _the_ Lorenzo Romero," he said and pointed at his chest in a manner that implied self-importance.

Rouge said nothing in response. Wordlessly and warily, she continued to back away, eyeing the strange android with critical eyes. While it was true such feats of mechanical creations were not rare, but the particular android she was looking at seemed rather strange even for her standards, for it was, in all shapes and forms, a model she had never seen before even in G.U.N's state-of-the-art headquarters.

It was an unsettling thought. That criminals could get their hands on this sort of technology truly posed an imminent danger to everyone.

"I see you have no comment," Romero spoke again in the presence of her lack of response, "Then we're done here. Umbra, bring her to me _alive_, but not necessarily intact."

The android processed the command and flexed its plasma claws. Its approach was slow and steady, effective in inducing fear into the prey. Its movements were firm, wholly ready to execute its directive. In the background, the criminals watched the scene unfold before their eyes with interest, some laughing and cheering their sentient weapon on as it gradually closed the gap between itself and Rouge like a predator playfully cornering its catch.

Rouge, on the other hand, continued to step back and kept her distance away from the unidentifiable puppet until her back was pressed against a container. End of the road. She could no longer retreat. Her face at that moment was still one of calculating calmness. The agent shot another brief look at the men before her once more, and spoke, still eerily composed despite her current predicament.

"I suggest you call that _thing_ back, dearies, before someone gets hurt," she threatened softly, eyes fixed on the weapon.

"Oh yes, someone is going to get hurt," replied the crime lord, "And it's you, my dear."

A smile formed on Rouge's lips then, shadowed by the darkness around her, "Let me revamp that sentence. I suggest you call that thing back before all of _you_ get _really_ hurt."

"Hollow threats and lies from a cornered rat do not scare me, girl. What can you do? Talk us to death?"

"No, that'd be too much of a hassle and I need my voice for other things instead of wasting it on deaf ruffians, but what I can do is…" Rouge paused momentarily, looking at the group before her one last time before she pressed a small button installed into the frame of her modified glasses she was wearing, "…create some _controlled_ _chaos_ right here, right now," she added, and in an instant, surprised cries and shouts and grunts were heard coming from all around the empty dock, much to Romero's shock.

The crime lord turned around, and within a single second, shock turned into horror as he looked at the listless bodies of his men lying around, all incapacitated and knocked out.

"You should have listened to the lady the first time," said a deep voice behind him, prompting the human to turn around. The attacker was shrouded in the foreboding veil of darkness, his entire body invisible and his movements subtle, undetectable. The only things that the lone human could see were his deep red eyes glaring at him, along with an overwhelming aura that came out from those fiery, almost infernal depths. They stared straight into the human's own, and the sight of those merciless orbs of crimson glowing ominously against the dark surroundings trained specifically on him alone was more than enough to make Romero shiver uncontrollably. Within seconds, his face was soaked in his own nervous sweats, and grew pale. His strength left him, and he fell to the ground.

"The heck are you? Some form of monster?" he cried and scooted away from the approaching silhouette. The soft noises of footsteps sounded heavy in his fretful state of mind.

"I'm no monster," the dark hedgehog replied and stepped into the light at last, showing himself fully to his target, "Only worse," Shadow added and the glare grew even more severe.

"Shadow the hedgehog…" the arms dealer muttered as he gazed upon the newly arrived creature, and within the span of five seconds, his skin had grown exponentially paler as though he had just laid eyes on his worst nightmare given flesh, all of his fears realized in one single second. The crime lords and dealers of the underworld had heard of this particular hedgehog's reputation before, and his name alone could strike fears deep into the heart of the foulest and most immoral of criminals. The human, now reduced to a trembling mess on the dirty ground, was froze stiff in place, unable to move anymore as the claws of terror held him tightly, refusing to let go of their captive.

"Good, so you have heard of me. Then you should know this is going to hurt a lot if you don't switch off that android of yours. You have five seconds."

There was no way he could escape capture with the most ruthless agent on his case, that Romero knew, but perhaps he could distract the hedgehog with something else, something to use as a bargaining chip for his release, he internally reasoned. _The_ _bat! A free getaway ticket!_

In his moment of desperation, Romero lashed out. "Umbra, get that bat!" he yelled after the android. A split second later after the order was made, he was hit with a chop on his neck, and instantaneously his consciousness was gone, swallowed by darkness.

"I've heard of man's stupidity, but this is a testament of _advanced_ _stupidity_ that deserves a certificate," Shadow mumbled as he secured a pair of handcuffs around the crime lord's wrists before he dashed off toward his partner's location to aid her in neutralizing the mysterious living weapon.

Rouge, having already discarded all of her disguises except for her functional camera-implanted pair of glasses, was now flying around in an attempt to dodge the consecutive strikes the machine was performing with its claws. Even with her agility, Rouge found herself almost getting slashed multiple times, and among those, three attacks would have been inflicted near fatal damage if hit.

"This thing is nasty. How in the world did those guys get something like this?" Rouge said to herself as she gained altitude and continued to capture the weapon on camera for future references. The android looked up at its now airborne target. Instantly, a tremendous amount of heat escaped its soles, and the being took flight after her.

"Great, rocket boosters, of course it has rocket boosters," Rouge mumbled sarcastically as she successfully yet barely evaded another frontal assault from her persistent chaser. "Shadow, Omega, I can use some help right now if you don't mind."

As soon as the words left her lips, a flash of light emerged right next to her location, from which emerged Shadow the hedgehog.

"You're going down," he said briefly before he unleashed his Spin Dash attack on the android. It was a direct hit, and upon contact, it was sent hurling toward the ground. A loud bang was heard when its metallic frame impacted the earth and left behind a large sent where it crashed.

Shadow and Rouge swiftly teleported to the top of a container a little distance away before the former spoke into his earbud.

"Omega, your turn," said the hedgehog. "Deactivate that thing and bring it back to base."

"Acknowledged," was the monotonous response coming from the other side.

The last surviving member of the E-100 series emerged from his location and lunged for his mechanical adversary. Before the mysterious android could get up, Omega quickly capitalized and launched a massive punch at its midsection, keeping it down. The punch was subsequently followed by a torrent of similarly vicious blows delivered to the same area of interest, the combined force of which resulted in a tremor that swept through the entire area and blew the unconscious bodies of the henchmen away.

"Yikes, now that's what I call ruthless," Rouge watched her mechanical partner at work and winced a little at the violence displayed, feeling a tinge of sympathy for the other robot. It did not last long, unfortunately. "Okay, much as I like to watch a delightful live show featuring uncensored robo-on-robo brutality, I have a job to do, so you keep an eye out for Omega, and I'll take Romero in."

Without waiting for Shadow to reply, she was gone, heading toward the unconscious target below.

"And mission accomplished," she muttered gleefully and called for her team situated a little distance outside the scene. During the call, Rouge failed to notice the slight movements directly behind her. One of the henchmen had managed to wake up after being hit by the ultimate hedgehog, roused by the waves of tremor Omega was making. His index finger located and wrapped around the trigger of a nearby blaster. He took aim.

"Eat laser, witch," the criminal mumbled with a pained grin and promptly opened fire. A distinct noise of _pew_ ripped through the air, and a bright energy blast flew straight toward Rouge's unsuspecting form. She had been caught off guard, and thus was unable to move out of the way in time.

Her eyes instinctively closed. Yet, no pain came.

A sudden blast of light flared up through her closed eyelids for a brief second, making her look. As suddenly as it had come, the energy beam was deflected away from her in the nick of time before it could make contact. Rouge's ever sharp mind was thrown into a state of confusion and even failed to process the sudden turns of events, but what she knew was that she was somehow safe, completely and _miraculously_ unharmed.

At that moment, out of her peripheral vision, the agent unexpectedly caught sight of something or someone hovering nearby, seemingly encased in a radiant aura of a cyan shade – something she knew she had seen before but was not fully certain until she turned around to look.

Rouge was proven right.

Before her eyes, Silver the hedgehog stayed afloat, and his hands were glowing brilliantly with the employment of his power. Before any words could leave her lips, the lone conscious henchman shot again and again, forcing her to take to the air.

"Annoying!" she hissed with an irritated expression darkening her face. Thoughts of retaliation already formed in her head, but they were rendered moot by Silver's intervention. With his psychic power, the hedgehog hailing from the future easily snapped the criminal's weapon in half from afar, much to the latter's terror. The man was about to flee, but his escape attempt was cut short when his visions suddenly began to swim and be filled with dots. His senses became disoriented as a wave of dizziness hit him. Within seconds, the dizzy spell grew too much, and he succumbed once more to the inevitable lure of oblivion.

"Thanks kiddo, I owe you one, but if you don't mind me asking, what did you do to him?" Rouge asked, genuinely curious, and Silver smiled.

"ESP-induced vertigo. Simple and effective and not to mention pretty nifty at times, and where are my manners…good evening to you, too, or is it early morning now…" he replied and was about to carry on with his monologue if a sudden explosion had not erupted from behind, catching his attention. Both airborne beings turned their heads back to the scene behind them, their eyes immediately landing on the sight of Shadow and Omega fighting off against the unknown android, which had managed to escape Omega's clutches and was now deploying its arsenals as a means of counterattack.

"Okay then…" the silver hedgehog talked again, "It looks like your friends over there could use some help. We'll talk later."

"Agreed," Rouge nodded, and with that, both flyers headed for the scene of the ongoing fight, ready to enter the fray themselves.

Back the fight, the mysterious android was faring rather well against both Shadow and Omega at the same time with its unusual tricks and weaponries. Shadow launched a barrage of Chaos Spears at the puppet, but it swiftly raised a plasma-like shield and nullified the attacks without much difficulties. The same was applied to Omega's ammunitions. However, due to the relentless assault made by the two ultimate beings, the android was forced to remain stationary to maintain its protective barrier.

"How's the scanning going?" Shadow asked as he kept up the pressure on the robot, making sure it stayed pinned down while buying some time for Omega to carry out a preliminary analysis of the android's arsenal.

"One-hundred percent complete, combat data unknown, weapons unidentifiable," was Omega's results.

"Great," Shadow muttered darkly, "Another otherworldly mess I suppose," he added under his breath. It was then that the dark hedgehog noticed a bright light heading toward their location, and it did not take long for his brain to work out who was currently accompanying Rouge.

"Silver?" he wondered. "Great..."

On cue, the white-furred hedgehog arrived at his location, and politely, he offered his greetings.

"Good early morning, Shadow," said Silver with a small wave.

"I'm busy right now," Shadow answered in an even tone as he continued to unload his limitless waves of Chaos-based projectiles on his mechanical target. Silver backed off and held both hands up in a placating fashion.

"Is he always like this under pressure?" the boy leaned sideway and whispered to Rouge, who simply laughed and patted him on the back.

"Hon, you have no idea the extent of His Grumpiness' attitude issues. Put him and Knuckles together in one room together and we can save lots of money on hiring a demolition crew," she said, earning an annoyed grumble from the dark agent.

"If you two have so much free time chatting, why don't you make yourselves useful and take that thing down while Omega and I are keeping it at bay?" Shadow retorted in an authoritative tone, one that his partner did not take seriously.

"Okay, okay, jeez, you need to _chill_ off every once in a while, Shads," she teased.

"I rather _blow_ off some steam," he replied.

"In any case, what are you…dealing…with…" Silver started, but his voice grew quiet toward the end as his eyes landed on the robot pinned under the endless salvo unleashed by Shadow and Omega. His eyes widened, and his mouth stayed agape.

"An Umbra prototype?" he exclaimed, seemingly shocked by the sight of the android before him, "Here? _Now_?"

"You know that thing?" Shadow inquired but his eyes still stayed fixed on the android. It took a while for Silver to process that question, and once he had managed to get his brain untangled, he replied softly, a dark look on his normally joyous face.

"I do. It's an android belonging to the Umbra models, a sophisticated peacekeeper android series created solely for the purpose of chasing down and incapacitating criminals…But it's not supposed to be in existence until a hundred fifty years later from this current timeline, and more importantly, it's not supposed to be equipped with plasma claws like that. It's meant for capturing and abating chaos, not maiming."

"Like I said, another otherworldly mess yet again, wonderful," Shadow remarked sardonically. "It's like every time you show up, trouble follows," he added and shot a quick glance at the future psychic. A look of annoyance crossed his face as soon as that comment reached his ears.

"Hey, I don't even know this thing is here, and I'm only here for a two-day vacation this time," Silver admitted with a scandalized frown. "Besides, it's not like I'm purposefully travelling across different timelines shepherding plights."

"Actually, Silver," Rouge chimed in, "You kind of have that rep whether you like it or not. Remember the last time you showed up and a gigantic beast of apocalypse attacked everyone here…"

"Okay, fine! I get it! I'm the time-travelling herald of disasters!" the white hedgehog cried out, exasperated. After a few seconds, his expression turned sober once more.

"So much for vacation, sorry Abel," he muttered to himself before turning his attention back to the others.

"Let's just finish this mess here first. And then, I'll get to the bottom of this problem. But from the looks of things, it appears I have a rogue Time Felon on the loose hiding somewhere in this era, and I don't plan on letting him escape my clutch."

And with his piece spoken, Silver the hedgehog raised his hands, ready to unleash his psychokinetic wrath upon the stray robot.


	23. The Hands of Time - Chapter 2

**Author Note: **Okay, before we move on to the second chapter of Team Dark's tale, I would like to say a few words first. This is a collection of short stories where I write about my own fantasies involving **_all _**of my favorite characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog game universe, with a few touches of my own imagining included of course. The original 18 chapters mark the start and finish of the original story _Settling_ _In_ revolving around Sonic and Tails, and now, I'm trying to write about other characters to avoid the monotony of simply imagining tales about two characters only (despite the fact those two are my favorite). Therefore, for people who want to read more about Sonic and Tails, please be patient and rest assured that their stories will come again _**after** _Silver and Team Dark have had their share of excitement and adventure first (and after I have satisfied my own overactive brain for along the way). Well, that's all.

Oh, and by the way, thank you to all who have read, commented, followed and favorited this collection. I really appreciate your time and efforts! :)

Now then, onward to the next chappie!

* * *

Team Dark Chapter 2: Conversation

Silver the hedgehog, now covered in his ethereal aura, amassed the energy necessary to facilitate his attack. Even though the spherical barrier generated by the futuristic android was indeed formidable and capable of shielding the robot from attacks from all fathomable directions, it was, as with all manners of barriers, not flawless.

There was always a loop hole to be exploited, and unfortunately for the Umbra, Silver knew exactly where to hit to really _hurt_.

"Shadow," said the psychokinetic hedgehog as he continued to focus on channeling his power, "Keep it up for a while longer while I try to focus...Time-travelling and fighting all at once - now that's a perfect recipe for a killing headache. Ouch…" he paused to rub his temples for a second before resuming his speech, "In any case, the moment I get it to stand still…lock, load, and make lots of booms!"

"Gladly," the other replied, all the while consistently forcing his opponent to stay on the defensive with his relentless discharges of Chaos Energy. "Rouge, leave this thing to us. You take Romero and get him to the team outside."

"Hey, I just got here, you know," she replied, one brow raised.

"You've done enough. From here, it's time get physical, not stealthy. Besides, we wouldn't want to risk getting your glasses damaged in combat and losing the evidence to put that scoundrel away."

"Fine, fine, I get it," the bat replied with a exasperated roll of her eyes. The males simply paid her antics no mind, however, in favor of focusing on shutting down the futuristic weapon. Before she flew away from the battle, Rouge, true to her nature, did not fail to make one last teasing remark aimed at her partner, "You sure know how to chase a girl away. Keep that up and you'll stay celibate for life, Shadow."

And with that, Rouge was gone, leaving the two hedgehogs and Omega behind to deal with the Umbra.

In the middle of the deserted dock, countless noises of explosions, blasts and machine guns going off and impacting with the barrier sharply ripped through the air and set the entire battle zone ablaze. Still, the weapon hailing from Silver's timeline was largely unaffected. The deafening blasts went on for another minute before Silver at last managed to fully focus his powers. With both of its hands tied in dealing with the vicious bombardments sent by Shadow and Omega, the Umbra, having detected another energy readings coming from directly below its feet, failed to counteract.

"Time to _rock_ your world," Silver said with a grin and immediately, both of his palms were smashed together. The huge chunk of land infused with his powers reacted in accordance with his gesture. Two pillars the size of the robot shot out and slammed against one another, effectively squeezing the Umbra right in between. The suddenness as well as the mighty force of the impact crushed the robot's arms, and with them down went the barrier.

"Now before it can regenerate," Silver cried urgently to his current teammates, both of whom nodded before carrying out their task.

Lock. Load. And fire.

One clamorous explosion was produced the moment the combined assortment of energy projectiles and missiles collided together, as mighty and bone-chilling as the most powerful claps of thunder. A thick screen of smoke along with the strong smell of burning metals soon followed, and when it cleared up, the Umbra lied motionlessly on the spot where it had been shot down, its body circled by bursts of short-circuited electricity.

"Is it over?" asked Shadow as he studied the immobile heap of metal before him, eying the futuristic creation with no small amount of suspicion and skepticism.

"Scanning," Omega replied in his mechanical tone, "Energy signature lost. Target immobile. Mission accomplished."

"Yeah, you said it," Silver followed up, "The Umbra can regenerate themselves from damage sustained by its body, but recovering from damage of this severity and magnitude, I highly doubt it. But just to be on the safe side, I should just destroy it here and now."

The young time traveler raised his aura-imbued hand forward. Instantly, a crescent-shape blade of pure energy materialized from thin air, aimed directly at the still remains of the living weapon. Had Shadow been one second later in his interference, the Umbra would have been bisected, its head chopped cleanly and put out of commission for good. Swiftly, the dark hedgehog shot one hand forward, tightly grabbing the younger's wrist and causing the realized mental projection to dissipate, much to Silver's confusion.

"No," Shadow began, looking straight at Silver. "You say this is a robot, right. So maybe there's something in its memory that may prove beneficial in determining where it was originally assembled and who its creator may be. We need to bring it back to G.U.N for further analysis."

"I don't know about that…" Silver contemplated, entertaining the thought. While it was true that not destroying the machine there and then could possibly bring about incalculable and often unthinkable changes in the time stream of events should the robot be analyzed and its schematics studied one hundred fifty years before its original birth, but another part of his conflicting brain waged another very convincing rebuttal to help advocate another theory, claiming that not there could be more Umbras being created in this timeline. If the latter case proved true, there was someone pulling the strings and messing with space and time, and that, in Silver's mind, was eternally more dangerous than everything else.

The white-furred hedgehog looked down, mentally weighing the pros and cons of his options. His face darkened as he lost himself in his own mind, and thus, did not even realize the silent gaze of the other hedgehog fixated on him nearby. The internal conflict between destroying or sparing the Umbra raged on, causing the newly-arrived time traveler to endure another painful but thankfully short-lived headache.

Massaging his temples, Silver sighed and vocalized his next course of action at last. "Fine!" he relented, but not without making some conditions of his own, "But after your inspection is complete and you have the information you want, you must destroy everything you know about this android to make sure the events of history are not altered in any way," Silver demanded with a fierce expression on his face, one that screamed finality and demanded compliance rather than offered choice and openness for further discussion.

"I'll see what I can do about it," Shadow, recognizing the grimness on the younger companion's face, answered carefully. Amber eyes instantly narrowed as the peered into their crimson counterparts.

"Not enough."

"I can't promise what G.U.N will do," Shadow admitted, "I'm just an agent in their ranks, I do not get to make the calls…"

"But you have your reputation, and I have no doubt that your words alone can greatly affect your superiors' decisions," Silver retorted, expression grim, "Either you promise me that, or this Umbra goes _boof _right here, right now. The time stream must be uncontaminated to prevent complete and unpredictable temporal collapses, and it is my _responsibility _and my_ oath_ to see that it is, unless authorized otherwise."

The psychic knife appeared again, noticeably much closer to the shut down android this time. Shadow stayed still for a while before he looked down and away from the earnestness dominating Silver's expression along with the gravity of his words. _Responsibility_ and _oath_…two words Shadow knew well, perhaps more than anyone else on the entire planet… Thoughts were instantly formulated in his head as to what his next course of action would be. A few seconds later, he looked at Silver straight in the eye once more, and offered the younger hedgehog a slight nod.

"Very well then. You have my word."

As if there was magic hidden in those words, seconds after they were uttered, all of the disconcerting grimness adorning the younger time traveler's face was wiped clean, replaced now by a friendly and endearing thin-lipped smile. The change in character was swift and instantaneous, almost like the Silver standing before him at that moment and the one who had made demands of him were two separate entities altogether.

"Okay then," said the psychic as he willed the threatening psychic knife out of existence at once. A dimmer aura of cyan encased the fallen Umbra and lifted it up. "Now let's go. You have a captured criminal to interrogate and I have a time criminal to capture. There's no _time_ to waste."

"Said the hedgehog that joyrides through time itself for a vacation," Shadow commented, his voice as even and devoid of all sense of humor as ever, but somehow, in some mysterious ways unknown to the speaker himself, the dry remark still made Silver chuckle.

No other words were exchanged after that. Wordlessly, Shadow, Silver and Omega left the scene after calling their team in to arrest the unconscious henchmen lying listlessly around different parts of the empty dock.

…

The entire escort team moved fast, and only twenty minutes later, Silver found himself standing inside G.U.N.'s local headquarters by Team Dark's recommendation with a Guest ID card worn around his neck. He looked through the window and watched with interest as Rouge began to interrogate the captured arms dealer for information. Omega had gone back to his recharging station, leaving only Shadow to stand by his side, hands crossed before his chest and his lips pressed together to form a perfect straight line.

"Shouldn't you be in there with your partner?" asked Silver softly, appearing inquisitive due to his assumption that Shadow's intimidation tactics could easily get him any piece of information he so desired.

The Ultimate Lifeform glanced sidelong at his companion and replied coolly in return, "I'm more action-oriented, so I'll leave the talking to Rouge. Besides, it's easier for her to twist and manipulate numbskulls that don't fear intimidation into admitting to their wrongdoings than it is for me. I'll just bash them in the heads repeatedly until they talk, but apparently, the higher-up made that tactic illegal."

"Oh…" Silver muttered, surprised by the confession. The confusion mixed with genuine curiosity apparent on his face was not as well hidden as he thought, for Shadow could easily spot it with a simple, brief glance.

"What's with that dumb look on your face?" asked the older hedgehog, voice unchanged.

"Huh? Oh! Nothing! Nothing at all," Silver replied awkwardly and a tad too quickly. Shadow appeared unimpressed.

"I may not have Rouge's social skills, but I am still a highly trained federal agent, so I know when I'm being lied to, and right now, I'm being lied to in the most blatant manner fathomable. So stop the ruse and just out with it."

"Well, it's just that…" Silver paused briefly, toying with one of his long quills and carefully selecting his words inside his mind so as not to antagonize one of the most powerful living being in existence. After all, he had read his fair share of history books and records of past timelines, and knew for a fact that angering a hedgehog that had played a significant role in decimating an entire race of ancient alien civilization was absolutely nothing less than suicidal.

"Just what?" Shadow asked, now fully paying attention to the other. One eye ridge was raised questioningly. The tone seemed to make Silver's fidgeting increase, though only slightly.

"You're not exactly like I thought you were," Silver began, and at the sight of Shadow's blank look, he made haste to elaborate, wildly swinging his hands in all directions and fumbling over his words over and over again until his voice became steady once more.

"What I mean is…" he paused and gathered his breath, "At first, from my initial observations and from the history records I read about you, I thought you were not exactly someone that enjoys the company of others much, for you always seem to exude an image of a person who's, well, unapproachable and cold with an eternal scowl on his face and all…er, no offense, but now that I actually have the chance to meet you up-close…well, you kinda changed my perspective a little."

"…How so?" asked the dark agent, his face neutral still.

"Well for starters, you're serious all the time, yes, but the way you carry yourself with Rouge and Omega seems…I don't know, _lax_, maybe, like you're _really_ comfortable around them."

"They're my partners and teammates. Of course I _have_ _to_ be comfortable with them."

"I'm sure both you and I know you're just saying that for the sake of, say, maintaining your image," Silver spoke up with a knowing grin. Shadow turned his head back to the ongoing interrogation inside and tried to ignore the infuriating grin worn by the other – something he had seen multiple times from _another_ _hedgehog_ of his own timeline and had, frankly, had had enough of.

Silver's line of vision followed his companion's and was directed at the happenings within the interrogation room. His mouth moved and he carried on his conversation, "You know, it's great to have people who truly understand you always stand by your side through thick and thin together…" his voice, unbeknownst to him, grew quiet toward the end, sounding almost…_wistful_.

Shadow's eye twitched subtly at that thought, but as usual, he offered no comment yet.

A moment of silence fell between the two after that offhanded comment. It was a strange kind of silence, not comfortable but at the same time, not entirely unbearable, either. It was bizarre. A few more minutes passed quietly by, and Shadow then took the initiative and spoke up, his voice low and deep and uncharacteristically lacking the rough edge with which he was usually associated with, "Don't you?" he asked Silver, and the other chuckled again, though not entirely out of humor.

"I…I don't know…I don't remember…" the future hedgehog admitted, making Shadow turn his head, somewhat interested by the sudden admittance of the younger boy.

"What do you mean you don't remember?"

"Exactly what I said," Silver shrugged and elaborated, "I'm not sure if they mean anything, but sometimes have strange flashes or dreams when I fall asleep, distant images and glimpses about a world drenched in oceans of flames, where I have someone by my side - a girl, that much is certain - but I can't remember anything else other than her silhouette. It's strange that I actually find those dreams somewhat nostalgic, as though they were real or something. But my mind knows they are not, just dreams, for I'm pretty sure I'd remember something as memorable and huge as a freaking _burning_ _planet_."

"Have you talked to anyone about that yet?" asked the dark hedgehog.

"No, you're the only one I've ever told this."

"…Why?"

Silver shrugged again, nonchalant. "I don't know…" he added with a small smile, "I just felt like it's...right to do so, like I could trust you with my secrets."

"Somehow I find that hard to believe," Shadow commented, "We don't exactly see one another much, and the times we did, we didn't exactly meet under the most fortunate of circumstances."

"Exactly! But still, I had a strange feeling of deja vu that we had met somewhere before our first meeting..." Silver looked down, his face scrunched up in concentration, surprised by his own words. However, he soon looked at Shadow once more, "Or maybe I just felt like it…" he casually added along with a small, easy grin.

"Is every hedgehog born on this planet that whimsical?" Shadow mumbled mostly to himself, but thanks to his acute hearing, Silver managed to pick it up, and again, he let out an amused chuckle. And it sounded much different than the last one – more alive and authentic.

"Perhaps that's how all of us are destined to be…" Silver mumbled lightheartedly before he stole another glance at the dark hedgehog beside him. A brief and well veiled look which carried a sense of sadness and apology crossed his eyes for a brief second before he ceased his action, as quickly as it had happened.

If Shadow had picked up on it, he made no remark. "I've never been a believer of that predestination thing…I make my own destiny."

"…But still, you sure are raking up some serious _karma_ _points_ for saving the world over and over again," the younger jested innocently. Even though he could not understand it himself, but Silver was, as he had admitted, entirely at ease in the presence of his dark counterpart, and the fact that Shadow seemed to show a certain degree of tolerance toward his own presence suggested that he was fine with it as well. That thought alone brought yet another smile to his lips.

Shadow was about to form another response, but his words died down immediately as Rouge stood up, gathered her things and came out of the room.

"What did you find?" the dark hedgehog inquired the moment his partner walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

"Unfortunately, not much about the one who sold him that Umbra android, so we're gonna have to wait for the results to come back from the lab. Hopefully, there'll be some sort of fingerprints or DNA samples or some kind of production serial number which Silver here can use to determine the identity of his rogue runner," Rouge answered and stretched her back, sighing in satisfaction as she felt her muscles stretch and the stiffness faded away somewhat. "But the good news is, Romero is going to get a one-way ticket straight to jail thanks to everything that we've caught him doing on camera. Taking into consideration the crimes of illegally circulating dangerous weapons, smuggling, racketeering, attempting murder and attempting murder on _a_ _federal_ _agent_ no less among many more charges…Oh yeah, he's going away for a _very_ long time. I'm confident that we can use all of those charges against him as leverage to make him spill out the names of his associates and if we're lucky, put an end to his weapon empire once and for all."

"That depends on who else he has on his payroll," said her hedgehog partner dryly, seemingly unaffected by the news.

"Aww, why are you always so _blue_, Shadow? Try to lighten up a little bit and adopt a more _optimistic_ thinking every once in a while, why don't you?"

"You just gave the saying _as blind as a bat_ a whole new literal meaning, Rouge," was the hedgehog's retort before he walked away. Despite the biting tone of the remark, Silver was outwardly impressed and surprised that Rouge had taken absolutely no offense to it, and instead, she even laughed merrily as she beckoned for him to follow them to the laboratory.

_Indeed, having someone who understands you wholeheartedly is the most wondrous of all gifts_, said the internal voice in his mind briefly before it quieted down. Silver picked up his pace and went after the two members of Team Dark, a silly grin still plastered on his face.

However, his expression turned sour seconds later as various fragmented glimpses belonging to the mysterious girl haunting his subconscious dreams unexpectedly resurfaced inside his head…

And his frown only deepened when those images faded away, followed by that of a lonely dark hedgehog with red stripes eternally locked away inside a confidential chamber, away from the light of day, suspended in a dead-like state and securely confined within a high-tech statis pod two hundred years from when he currently was.

Unbeknownst to the agents walking ahead, Silver let out an inaudible sigh before he picked up his pace after them. _Perhaps that, too, was already predestined to be…_


	24. The Hands of Time - Chapter 3

**And here's the new chapter of the Team Dark &amp; Silver's story. Warning: May require careful reading to avoid possible confusions! In either case, I hope you'll enjoy it! :)**

* * *

Team Dark Chapter 3: Complications

The brief walk toward G.U.N.'s forensic laboratory was spent in complete silence, with Rouge and Shadow taking the lead and Silver following closely behind. As they walked, the three passed through areas where G.U.N's machines were developed and assembled, and the youngest of the trio took his time taking and privately marveling the advancements in technology of the current time line, all of which would soon serve to establish the foundations and usher the dawn of the devices and inventions for his own futuristic timeline. From the high platform above, Silver watched with unconcealed interest, his eyes widening and lighting up not unlike a small child when taken into his favorite candy store, as various pieces of microscopic compartments came together under the precise guidance of the automatic hands to form magnificent tools for the war against the evils of the world.

_If only they could be used for purposes other than to fight in battles_, the silver hedgehog mentally sighed and shook his head at that dreadful thought. Marvelous though they were, those machines assembled below him were, for all purposes and intent, no matter how good and noble those intents were, basically war machines – weapons designed and tailored specifically to inflict damage and cause waves of destructions on their path. _Using fire to fight fire,_ it would seem.

His vision was then directed forward, back to the narrow hallway before him, and silently, Silver picked up his pace to catch with the other two agents. The rest of the trip toward the lab was, as it had been from the very beginning, spent in silence. But inside the young time-traveling hedgehog's mind, it was anything but…

Approximately ten minutes later, the trio at last arrived at a huge room with the letters Crime Lab engraved upon the reinforced entrance. Rouge turned around and looked at her guest. With a casual smile on her face, the bat began to brief the regulations of the lab to the young psychic.

"Now then kiddo, first thing first, there are dos and don'ts when you enter the lab. Get them memorized and do not get mixed up, and we'll all be apples, savvy?" she said, half serious and half in jest, much to Silver's mild, inner annoyance. He was _fourteen_, so technically a _teen_ and by no means a kid, a small voice inside his head spoke up in the most defensive of manners, but outwardly, Silver appeared completely attentive to whatever instructions Rouge had to tell. The briefing was short and informative, and once her preset five minutes time frame expired, the two agents opened the door and went in. Silver walked behind, making sure his hands stayed stuck to his sides and not unconsciously wander around in curiosity.

The laboratory was impressive, spacious and filled with the tools that seemed to transcend those which could be achieved in the current timeline. That alone was testament to how advanced G.U.N. was, and the hedgehog could not help but feel awed by the sights before him.

In the middle of the lab stood a huge operating table, upon which the remains of the defeated Umbra could be seen. Surrounding the tables was a group of three human scientists dutifully at work. Rouge tapped lightly on the empty table nearby, and the three middle-aged analysts turned around.

"Hello docs," she began, "How goes the inspection of our out-of-timeline subject here?"

One of the analysts, the oldest among the trio as evident by the numerous wrinkles decorating his face and the head full of grey hair and beard, walked toward the anthropomorphic agents. There was also a small slouch to his posture, making him seem smaller compared to his other co-workers, along with a limp to his steps, supported by a cane. _Gunshot wound_, Silver mentally concluded.

"Well, not far, I'm afraid," said the analyst, his voice deep and easily recognizable by a distinctively thick western accent. "We're dealing with very sophisticated pieces of future technology with our obviously out-of-date tools, so I'm not too hopeful, lassie. This creation here is absolutely marvelous, a matrix of network so intricately woven and assembled that I don't even know where to begin."

"Basically, you haven't got anything done yet," Shadow concluded.

"No, unfortunately. We did conduct an autopsy on the outside of the machine and scanned for possible fingerprints, but from the heavy lingering smell of gunpowder radiating from the android's body, well, you get the idea, me lad. Fire and evidence are not a match made in heaven in any era."

"So, what are you going to do now?" Rouge asked, "We need to get something, some lead to work with here. For all we know, there could be another one like this bad boy being distributed around the globe in this timeline, and let's just say that's a recipe for a global disaster."

"And not to mention the sudden presences of any more Umbras in the past could potentially affect the events of history altogether, something I cannot allow to happen," Silver spoke up with a frown, and for the first time, the scientists noticed the young hedgehog. His grey eyes, narrowed and covered by a pair of thick-framed glasses, brightened up almost immediately at the sight of the youngster of the future, eying the hedgehog with a fascination of a researcher when discovering something new. The stares from all three humans quickly made Silver feel uncomfortable.

Noticing the look on the time traveler's face, the oldest analyst stopped his gestures and extended a hand forward in greeting.

"Do excuse my associates and my behavior, lad," he said, "It's not every day we get a visit from someone hailing from the future. That the thought of time travelling being possible is itself awe-inspiring already. Ahem, my name is Alasdair Sinclair, and those two are my co-workers, Adam McKlein and Julia Varquez. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, mister…"

"Silver," the hedgehog replied and accepted the proffered hand, "Silver the hedgehog, full-time psychic, part-time time traveler and big-time herald of all things apocalyptic," he added in one breath and with a grin on his face, making the human's eye twitch. He subsequently looked to the agents for clarification, and Rouge shrugged.

"We pressed a few buttons when we met at the dock," she stated casually and of course, her voice was not without the teasing and light-hearted tone she was too well-known for among her colleagues. "All the wrong ones, I'm afraid."

"Ah," the middle-aged man replied with an understanding nod of his head before he headed back to the operating table. "Maybe you should edit out the last title from your business card in the future, me lad.

"A little too late for that, unfortunately," Silver joked and chuckled. The human raised an eyebrow at that statement, but decided to move on.

"But now that you're here, I was hoping that you could give us a hand with this puzzle. I would love to get started on looking for something we can use, but then again, I'm afraid I may cut up the wrong wires and for your information, I still very much want to spend the time I have left in this life with my kids and grandkids at home."

Silver nodded in understanding and approached the table. Grabbing a pair of spare gloves nearby as required, he put them on and began to instruct the analysts through the inner structures of the Umbra, for he had at some point read their blueprints and schematics.

"The inside of the Umbra is a complex matrix of artificial skeletons and nerves, and they are fashioned in a way that perfectly replicates the inner constitutions of a human's anatomy, albeit tougher and more durable. Therefore, I would start with the head first. There's a memory chip implanted within, which also controls the robot's internal security camera. There should be a unique serial code engraved on the chip's surface that I can use to identify the unit. I can cross-check with my contacts in the future and see when this thing was stolen from its manufacturing factory."

"Stolen?" asked Shadow.

"Yes," Silver answered, "There's no way the technology of this era can create an Umbra like this, even with doctor Ivo Robotnik's genius, so there must have been a premade template available, or to be exact, stolen from the future and smuggled back in time. The manufacturer's serial code should help me identify when the unit was stolen and maybe I can identify the criminal responsible."

"Hmm, okay, you work on that," Rouge said, "In the meantime, is there anything you'd like me to get you?"

"There is," replied the hedgehog as he summoned his energy to his hands, eyes fixed on the robot before them, "I'm going to need a sealed, completely soundproofed far room away from all curious eyes to make a call back to the future after I'm done here."

"Got it, kiddo, you do your thing here, and I'll contact Shadow to lead you there when I have one ready for you," the bat nodded and walked off to prepare the room as per request, leaving Shadow behind with the scientists and the younger hedgehog.

"And one more thing," the young psychic added as his eyes landed on the human analysts, his expression a mix between apologetic and serious. "I'm terribly sorry for the rudeness of my next request, but I'm going to have to ask all of you to leave the room while I work. I cannot afford to allow any more secrets of future technologies to be made known across timelines."

Alasdair was about to give his response, but his younger colleague cut in before any words could be formed.

"You can't do that!" the young male protested, his face twisted in a disproving scowl and his eyes glaring intently at the psychic hedgehog. "This is our crime lab, and you're just a guest. You have absolutely no authority whatsoever to have us vacate."

"You're right, doc. He can't, but I can," Shadow interjected, much to the shock of the human, "And I'm exercising that authority right now. So do as he said and leave."

"This is an outrage!" Adam cried, "This is our lab, and this subject is under our jurisdiction…"

"Adam, stop making a spectacle of yourself and let's go," said Alasdair calmly and in understanding. "As you can see, we are out of our depths here, so let us leave and allow the youngster to do what he must."

"But…This is a golden opportunity!" the young analyst insisted, "This technology, this wonderful technology can benefit us a lot if we can have more time to study it. Can't you see that? The possibilities are endless, and we can make breakthroughs before time, and…"

"And doom us all. Yes, I can see _that_. And like this lad here said, we are not to mess with history. I've seen my fair share of sci-fi flicks to know what'll theoretically happen if we do, so God forbid, no. We're leaving, and that's final." He then turned to his female colleague and nodded to her.

"Coffee, Julia?" he offered, and she nodded with a confirmation. The two got up and made to leave. Julia fetched her phone lying nearby and swiftly followed her colleague outside, not even once questioning her superior's decision. Adam, whose face was now contorted in a disproving scowl, lingered around, and was about to voice his protest yet again. Unfortunately, any words that he had so eloquently formed within his mind instantly banished when he was shot with Shadow's expression. Though mostly neutral and set in a scowl as ever, the slight narrowing of the Ultimate Lifeform's eyes were more than sufficient as a warning directed at the stubborn lone human. His confidence disappeared at the simple look, and with a nervous gulp, he, too, vacated the room with haste.

"Humans are just too curious for their own good," Shadow commented after the last analyst had finally disappeared from sight.

"And as the saying goes: curiosity kills the cat," Silver added, but as soon as those words left his lips, a series of images entered his mind unbidden, eliciting a surprised gasp from the young psychic. A world filled with flames, a silhouette belonging to a female, and this time, a small light was shed on the shadowed figure, revealing a tail – a cat's tail, seemingly violet at the tip. A burst of infernal flames surrounding her and then, an explosion…shockwaves pushing him backward…dots of light, resembling countless fireflies flying heavenward…

"_You're still so naïve, but I…I've always liked that about you,"_ spoken a dismembered voice that held both familiarity and strangeness at the same time, further adding to the psychic's confusion…

"What's wrong?" Shadow's voice tore through his jumbled visions and the ghostly voice ringing in his ears. The suddenness of the interruption put an end to the flashes and effectively carried Silver back to the present moment. The younger instantly performed a sharp intake of breath and placed his hand on a table nearby to avoid toppling over, the other caressing his template to rid the residual dizziness.

_What was that?_ He muttered softly to himself as he desperately tried to will the images back. His efforts were for naught, unfortunately.

"Silver?" Shadow tried again to gather the other's attention, his voice and face expressionless as ever.

"I'm okay," replied the psychic meekly as he regained his balance and stood upright on both feet. The headache that had assaulted him unannounced was gone, disappeared as swiftly as it had come. Still, the confusion birthed by those strange images and voice lingered, haunting his thoughts and mind.

"Another of those strange visions of yours?" Silver's head whipped around at that statement, locking his eyes with the older hedgehog nearby. Shadow , on the other hand, said nothing, and instead stood still where he was, silently studying his future companion with critical eyes, ones which never once gave out any hint – even the subtlest – of what sort of emotions were running through the ultimate being's mind.

"Yeah…But this one's different," Silver admitted at last and looked back at the Umbra before him. "But then again, maybe it's nothing at all, just my mind playing tricks on me. Maybe I'm still feeling the aftereffects of time-travelling…" he then shook his head in a feeble attempt to flush out the residual effect and gathered his thoughts. Focusing his energy, Silver began to conduct his surgery on the fallen android, deliberately ignoring the serene gaze of Shadow on him.

The other made no comment.

With a flick of his wrist, Silver conjured a small psychic knife fashioned to resemble a perfectly scaled scalpel for the operation. The energy-based materialization moved forward steadily until the sharp blade grazed the robot's head, testing the hardness of the substance. Once he had determined the force needed to break through the Umbra's defense, Silver applied that same amount of force behind his power, albeit with great care and precision. Slowly and gradually, the cyan blade went bypassed the hard material and entered the Umbra's head.

"I don't have experience in this sort of thing, so the crude way I'm going about it may look a bit gruesome even though it's technically an operation on a shut down robot, so if you want, you can turn around to avoid potential nightmare fuel," Silver kindly suggested, but his companion's face remained stone-cold still, appearing as though he had never heard anything at all.

"Oh…Right," the future psychic sighed inaudibly and mentally berated himself for underestimating the dark hedgehog's nerves. "Okay, here goes."

The scalpel was then willed away. Silver focused his energy on the area where his knife had cut through, and with his hands moving outward, he mentally peeled off the Umbra's head in the exact same manner one would treat the outside skin of a tangerine in order to reach to the fruit within. Within seconds, the head of the Umbra was split in half, revealing the breathtakingly intricate network of artificial neurons within – a true technological marvel that the current timeline had yet to achieve.

Silver, with one hand focusing on keeping the head apart, began to dig around for the chip he wanted, carefully. Thanks to prior knowledge of the Umbra's design, the search did not last long, and only five minutes later, the prize he had been searching for was hovering before him, encased in a protective aura of psychic energy.

"Here it is," he cried joyously and moved to a microscope nearby. "Now let's see what numbers you have."

The characters of ET-890-MX-UMBRA-00 were clearly imprinted upon the surface of the chip, much to his thrill and relief.

"Yes," he muttered absentmindedly and swiftly scribbled down the sequence before turning to Shadow, a grin stretching on his lips. "Got it. And now, all I have to do is call in to check with my friend in the future and then, maybe we'll know how this android got sent here."

"Good," Shadow remarked, "And Rouge's just called in and said she'd found a room you can use. Now let's get going. Time is of the essence. And every time you're involved, literally so."

"That is getting old really quickly you know. And before we leave, do you still remember your end of our bargain?"

Shadow, in response, snapped his fingers. At once, the Umbra was gone without a trace, courtesy of Chaos Control.

"And do tell, where did it go exactly?" asked Silver, half skeptic and half curious.

"Sunbathing at the hottest spot available in the solar system," was the other hedgehog's curt reply before he promptly walked away without waiting for further questions from the younger. Silver looked around for a while linger to make sure nothing of the Umbra remained forgotten. Once he was certain, the young psychic simply shrugged and with a small smile on his face, made to follow his guide to the next room.

He had a private call to make, and he was most certain that Abel would not be happy – not at all.

…

The room Rouge had selected for the occasion was located at the lowest level of the base, and after ten minutes of switching from one elevator to another and a few more minutes of lengthy and meticulous security clearances, Silver and Shadow finally arrived at the underground war room. Rouge was standing at the entrance, waiting for them with a rather impatient look on her face.

"Took you two long enough," she chastised playfully the moment the males were in her line of vision. The façade of mock annoyance was then quickly discarded, and her lips twitched upward one more.

"But in any case, let's get this over and done with. I only got permission to use this room for ten minutes top, so don't dally or dwindle around."

She entered the code and unlocked the massive reinforced gates, granting them entrance. The inside of the room was indeed spacious, befitting as an emergency war room for the highest personnel of the organization. A huge oval table sat in the middle of the room, taking up most of the area, and on the other end was a massive screen along with the most advanced pieces of machinery for briefing and debriefing purposes. Silver was, as to be expected, once again awestruck by the magnificence of G.U.N.'s inner structure.

"Wow…" he could not contain the exclamation of thrill as he entered the place. And naturally, Rouge did not blame him, for it was not an everyday occurrence whereby a citizen was allowed access into one of the highest security location within the organization.

"Yeah, it's big and bad and wonderful alright, but hurry up and call your buddies before your ten minutes is up, porcupine head," she teased before closing the door behind her. The nickname instantly snapped the entranced hedgehog from his amazement, causing him to whip his head around and fix the bat a mild glare – an ineffective one at that.

"Okay, whatever you two hear in here stays in here," said Silver with a grim and threatening look on his face. Rouge, in response, rolled her eyes patronizingly and let out a soft huff.

"Yah, we know, things get out, and there'll be dire consequences, temporal collapse, paradoxes, changing the future events and all that jazz. It's kinda hard to forget when you're reminded every few minutes, hon."

"Just a friendly reminder," Silver said with a shrug of his shoulders before he installed his compact communicator to the screen. His fingers danced on the buttons and entered his own security code. Minutes later, the large screen came to life, displaying a brief period of static as the call connected the two timelines. Seconds passed, and at last the connection was established, the image of Abel appearing. Upon seeing his small, furry friend, the cyborg's face broke into a warm, inviting smile, prompting Silver to return the gesture, though his was a bit forced and slightly strained due to the fact that he was mentally steeling himself for the brutal telling off that was sure to come for breaking his agreement.

"Hello Silver," he greeted, "I trust that you've arrived safely to your vacation spot?"

"Yeah, I did…" replied the young time traveler, scratching his head abashedly as he contemplated on the best way to break the news. Abel noticed, and immediately, the kind expression was replaced by a darker one, stern and serious. His human eye narrowed as it landed on the squirming creature before him.

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Abel spoke up yet again, "What is it this time, Silver?" The sudden switch of tone admittedly sounded unnerving and somewhat disconcerting, and whatever initial impression of a kindly old man which the two members of Team Dark had conjured up vanished within the span of a single heartbeat. Rouge seemed impressed by the change, while Shadow's face remained as passive as ever.

"Yeah," the psychic made to answer, fingers twirling around one another nervously, "We have a situation here with a rogue Time Felon on the loose, and I...well, kind of got myself mixed up in this mess…again…"

A loud _crash_ coming from the other line quickly succeeded the hedgehog's confession, forcing his ears to stand erected and his eyes to dart to the screen. Abel appeared normal, his expression not betraying whatever emotions and thoughts circulating within his cybernetic brain. He was a perfect picture of calmness and zen, and that scared Silver - a lot.

"Do pardon that. It appears some unusual wind has knocked over a vase on my table. Now then, walk me through your findings," said the futuristic cyborg, now assuming the tone of a true commander.

"I encountered a stolen and heavily modified Umbra prototype and deactivated it in this era. There was no evidence found on the body, but I managed to retrieve the manufacturer's serial code, read ET-890-MX-UMBRA-00, which I now need your help to identify this unit to see when it was stolen and shipped back in time. And from then, we may be able to find out who's the mastermind behind this inter-temporal weapon trade conspiracy."

"I see…" Abel mumbled, his cybernetic brain already accessing the numerous databases of the Time Guardians and numerous other local police reports in search of the matching code. Within seconds, the results came back, and the report was projected in a hologram via his robotic eye.

"There was indeed a break-in two days ago at a factory owned by Sylvester Robotics Co., and strangely, only one old Umbra prototype was reported missing – the one whose code matched with your description. The police didn't find out who had committed the heist, and due to the fact that nothing serious was missing and that the company itself seems to care more about reinforcing their security systems rather than the stolen prototype model, the case was dropped altogether. No other evidence could be found."

"Two days," Shadow contemplated, "So that means this is recent…"

"Indeed," Abel answered the dark hedgehog, "I'll check for all time-traveling activities, both authorized and unauthorized, starting from that specific day and see what I can find. Hold on…"

"Doesn't he need some sort of equipment to do the searching?" Rouge leaned in to ask Silver, who shook his head and smiled.

"Nah, his brain is basically a built-in supercomputer already, enabling him to internalize the search, and trust me, nobody does the tracking better than he does."

"Oh…Nifty."

Seconds later, the cyborg opened his eyes once again. "I believe I've found something that may prove useful. There was only one unauthorized time jump that took place exactly fifteen minutes on the same day the prototype was stolen. The jump was carried out by a personally crafted one-man Chrono Belt, so we had no idea where and when the user disappeared to. I think you may recognize this one, Silver."

A holographic depiction of the suspect was projected on the screen, and true to what Abel had claimed, Silver indeed recognized the face, and it made him growl against his nature, much to Rouge's surprise. The 3D hologram showed a being with the height rivaling that of an ordinary anthropomorphic creature, whose body was clad entirely within the confine of a light-weighed, form-fitting armor. His protective suit was rather demonic and somewhat medieval in terms of appearance and accordingly, was painted in dark, sinister tones, with chiefly the shades of foreboding ebon and contrastively radiant violet mingling with each other. His face was fully hidden under a matching helmet of black, upon whose surface six purplish slits were present, stretching from the forehead down toward the chin and each shining with an ominous illumination. The headwear followed the preset theme and appeared no less intimidating than the rest of his suit, with multiple small horns jutting outwardly and two noticeably larger goat-like ones curving upward, protruding from the cranium. Their tips seemed dangerously sharp and lethal. The chest plate, the pauldrons on his shoulders and the spiky waistband – on which a single crimson orb was embedded - worn around his waist all resembled snake scales, further adding the devil-motif feeling to his hellish and nightmare-inducing exterior. For the ultimate completion of the image, a long, spaded tail could be seen coming out from his backside, its tip jagged and seemingly capable of sentencing someone to instant death by impalement.

"Gauche!" Silver muttered through gritted teeth as he laid his eyes upon the creature before him, his expression darkening to a heated, almost hateful scowl.

"I assume you know that…devil?" Rouge asked rhetorically. Silver nodded curtly.

"Yes," he began, "He's one of the most annoying enemies I normally have to deal with and a source of constant grievances for me and the Time Guardians. A highly advanced artificial intelligence with only one goal in mind: making my life a literal living hell."

"Wait a minute," Rouge cut in, eyes wide, "That thing there is a robot? Designed specifically to destroy you…Oh boy…I've heard this story before..."

"Its creator must be pretty ticked at you to make something like that," Shadow commented, eyeing the holographic projection on the screen with keen interest. "And I have a sinking idea who if my knowledge regarding the trend set by Terra-born hedgehogs is accurate enough."

Silver nodded again, and with another uncharacteristic grumble, he spilled out the name of the one whom he had always considered to be the most nefarious of his rogue gallery, the one who had on multiple separate occasions strived to twist the laws of time travelling to his every ambition and scheme and the same individual who he had helped put away not so long ago after the Ifrit incident…

"Nicknamed _The Left Hand that Deals Death _and built with the ability of artificial cyberkinesis, that mechanical abomination is a personal creation of Eggman Nega designed specifically for the intention of combating me…" the future hedgehog's voice came out low and angry. Around his gloves, sparks of psychic energy shone brilliantly, perfectly reflecting his own growing emotions.

"Huh…If that's the _left_ _hand_, I sure hate to know what the _right_ _one_ looks like," Rouge commented lightheartedly. Unfortunately, her attempt at lightening the mood backfired, for Silver's face, if even humanely possible, darkened even further, his amber orbs shone menacingly against the his shaded expression, making him appear downright demonic himself.

"Abel," said the psychic hedgehog, his voice low and decisive, sparing no room for further argument or contradictions. He did not even need to finish his sentence, for the cyborg on the other side nodded and replied.

"Leave Nega to me, my friend. I will personally see to it that he remains where he is and at the same time keep an eye out for Droite here. If my information is correct, she was not present alongside Gauche during the time-jump. You, in the meantime, focus on locating and apprehending Gauche. If he's in the past, then he must be after something that can aid his creator in breaking out of jail. And we can't risk that. However, I'm afraid you're going to have to find him alone, Silver, for I do not wish to cause a scene by sending more Time Guardians to the past…I apologize."

"I understand. You just do your thing Abel. I'll be fine."

"And not to mention that Silver here won't be alone in this," Rouge, ever the diplomat, chimed in and placed a hand on the young time traveler encouragingly. "Consider that he now has access to every database available in this G.U.N. base, his task should be a tad easier than the wild goose-chase he pulled the previous times."

"Wait," Abel cut in, a thoughtful look crossing his face. "You're inside a G.U.N. base?" he asked as his search came across a warning sign, and Silver nodded in confirmation. "Which base are you currently at?"

"Station Square Headquarters."

"The newly built one in this timeline," Rouge added, tilting her head to one side questioningly, "Why?"

"Oh no…" Abel muttered, his human eye widening in shock as the answer.

"What's wrong?" asked Silver. Nearby, Rouge and Shadow leaned closer, and neither of them particularly liked the look on Abel's face.

"According to my data, the location at which Station Square G.U.N. HQ was situated two hundred years ago is the same location where the Time Guardians' Maximum Detention Center is standing in the future – _our_ current present."

"Wait a sec, does that mean I'm standing in the same place Eggman Nega will be incarcerated?"

"Not in that particular room, but yes, you are standing inside the facility, technically speaking."

"If that's the case…Then that Umbra…This entire situation…" Silver grew silent all of the sudden, and as though a horrible realization had just dawned upon his mind, he looked up and locked eyes with his future friend, within them understanding and trepidation were visible.

"Rouge, Shadow, we need to warn everyone right now. Gauche's properly already inside your systems! Your base has already been compromised."

"What do you mean? Explain," Shadow demanded.

"Gauche can assume a viral form and wirelessly transfer his consciousness into any type of machine he desires within the range of a five-mile radius, and if my knowledge of Gauche's sneaky and elusive habits is spot-on, his consciousness was already in possession of the Umbra we deactivated so that he could…"

"Gain access to this exact base and tamper with the timeline to somehow bust Eggman Nega out in the future," Shadow concluded.

"Huh, I've been wondering why the missions to capture both Romero and Stefano went so well…Turns out our secret informant is that little devil. To be honest, though, I'm impressed."

Silver ignored her last words and continued with his deduction, "Then some events have already been altered by his interferences. I'm afraid with his power over all lesser and weaker mechanical creations, Gauche can easily take control of this base and by possible extension, lie dormant until the temporal changes finally take effect, allowing him to transfer himself inside the Detention Center in the future," Silver explained. "We must make haste to flush him out before any further events get altered."

"Then, we haven't time to waste. Let's go."

Immediately, Shadow took out his Chaos Emerald and held it forward. Silver spoke a quick word of farewell to Abel before he, along with Rouge, was engulfed in a bright flash of light and disappeared from the war room.

…


	25. The Hands of Time - Chapter 4 (Final)

**Okay, here's the last chapter of the little Silver &amp; Team Dark adventure together. I hope you'll all enjoy it and tell me what you think. After this, true to my words, there will be another Sonic &amp; Tails tale set in the modern era - a fluff most likely, but at this stage, anything could happen. So stay tuned. :)**

**P.S. Warning for the use of guns (or basically, warning for Shadow being Shadow).**

* * *

Team Dark Chapter 4: Lunatic

Silver, Shadow and Rouge reappeared only a second later inside the control room, where hundreds of security feeds were displayed on numerous screens before them. Their sudden entrances caused the workers inside to stand up with a start until they realized it was only Shadow.

"Darn it, Shadow," yelled one human, a hand dramatically placed on his heart, "Stop popping up unannounced like that, will you! You want to give your coworkers a heart attack?"

"I have no time for chitchat," the hedgehog replied sternly and went to the controls. "I need the schematics for the layout of this entire base. Now!"

"O-Okay…" the worker replied with a questioning look on his face, but he simply did as told, subduing his curiosity for the time being. With a few presses of buttons, the 3D schematic was pulled on the screen. "Here you are. I don't mean to pry, agent Rouge, but do we need to know what's going on here?"

"We have a situation of great urgency we need to deal with asap, something you boys needn't concern yourselves with. Agent business. Classified," Rouge answered and before the human could form any further questions, she had already moved to the controls and activated the fire alarm. The lighting inside the entire base turned red in an instant, and the unmistakable blaring of various sirens ringing thunderously throughout the entire building soon followed. Within seconds, all employees followed the most basic of their trainings and, as clearly shown on the security feeds, vacated the building in a calm and orderly fashion.

"That should do it, and I suggest you go as well. After all, you do not want to fail a practice drill, especially one as basic as this one," said the bat to two workers lingering inside. After a brief exchange of bewildering looks, they shrugged and did as commanded, buying Rouge's claim that the entire thing was simply a surprised test. Exactly two minutes later, the only souls that still remained inside the control room were the three anthropomorphic beings.

"Silver, the table's yours," said Rouge as she stepped aside.

"Thanks," he replied with an appreciative nod.

Immediately, Silver set out to work, pulling up the newly received schematics of the Time Guardians' Detention Center which he had received via his communicator minutes ago and comparing it with the one currently displaying the past incarnation of the facility.

"Okay…There are some structural changes done to the building as to be expected…But if the calculations that Abel's sent over are all correct, and they are always so, the isolated cell where Nega is being locked up in is in the same area as… that place." He finished his statement and pointed at a large space located at the deepest underground level, painted red on the screen.

"The storage space, highly restricted," Rouge concluded.

"What do you store there?" asked the youngest of the trio. Shadow's expression darkened a tad in response.

"Weapons. Big ones," he said simply before disappearing.

"Uh…" Silver mumbled, bewildered by the hasty departure. Rouge, on the other hand, appeared unconcerned, and she reassured the time traveler of that fact as well. True to her words, Shadow, in the same manner as he had left, reemerged a second later, only this time, he had someone else. Behind him stood the final and most explosive member of Team Dark – Omega, dutifully ready for action as always.

"Great, now that's the gang is all here and accounted for, let's move before that Gauche guy messes with our systems!" Rouge announced, and in a flash, Shadow warped all four of them to their designated destination.

The trip was, as with the previous ones, brief thanks to Chaos Control. Once inside, Rouge turned on the light for better visuals. The moment the lights were on Silver looked, with wide eyes, at the numerous offline units taking up space inside the room, all of which were identified by the agents as the towering and feared GUN Troopers.

"Those are big alright," Silver commented.

"But inferior and simplistic in designs and armaments," Omega added, expressionlessly.

Silver looked around as he followed his allies around the room and mentally, he counted thirty units in total. The mechanical giants, though inactive, still managed to appear intimidation, and their bulky exteriors were more than enough to instill fear within anyone who beheld, especially when regarded up-close and personal.

Silver's eyes narrowed slightly as he studied the units and the weapons they held before turning back to the others.

"If Gauche is inside the base, this is the perfect playground for him. He could be anywhere inside those units' circuits or the lighting or…"

_Thuck_!

"What was that?" Rouge wondered aloud. Everyone's heads turned around toward the source of the strange noise. Nothing.

_Tche_! came another noise, this time on the opposite direction. Four pair of eyes shot toward the alleged source, but once again spotted nothing out of the ordinary, only the statue-like Troopers standing by.

"Huh," Rouge spoke up, suspicious and cautious, "Either G.U.N. has just finished installing a haunted house without us knowing as a way to keep intruders out, or that Gauche guy is really in here messing with our heads with special effects."

"My chips are placed on the latter," Shadow said.

_Crash_!

More than half of the lights went out at the same time, partially darkening the room and greatly limiting everyone's vision.

"Great…" Rouge muttered evenly, not at all amused by the sudden occurrence. "Just keep 'em coming, one after another."

"That's Gauche alright," Silver replied, "Always a trickster, and not the benevolent kind."

Shadow turned to Omega and addressed him with a low, hushed voice, "Omega, scan the area for heat, motions, anything. See if you can pick up his trace."

"Acknowledged. Scanning in process…Finished, no other living life form detected within the area. All Troopers systems currently offline. Scan comp..." A sudden beep then interrupted Omega's monotonous voice, and in an instant, everyone tensed.

"Omega, did you set the wrong time for your alarm clock, or did your radar just pick up on something else?" Rouge asked, wary.

"There was a sudden spike in the energy readings. One GUN Trooper unit seems to have been manually activated…Two…Three…Twelve…" the ally robot replied. The rest of the light went out at this point, surprising everyone. The group steeled themselves for what was to come. Rouge and Shadow stayed close to each other, Omega's hands instantly morphed into machine guns at the turns of events, and Silver began to focus his energy, all of them ready for the inevitability of combat.

"Hang on a sec, let me shed some light on this," Silver announced briefly and used his aura to illuminate the area around them.

And at once, they found, to their amazement, guns of carrying sizes and varieties pointed at them from all directions, trapping them in place.

"Thirty," Omega concluded lowly. "Scan complete."

"Yah, we kind of notice that Omega. Thanks _a ton_ for the info and the heads up, buddy," Rouge spoke up, sardonic.

"Compliment received, agent Rouge, and you are welcome," the robot replied, oblivious to the bat's unconcealed sarcasm. Rouge, exasperated, covered her face with one hand, and shook her head in resignation.

"What's the point, really?" muttered the bat before she turned to face her other partner, "So then, Shadow…Smash, or no smash, your call," she went on and stepped closer against the others. "And just for consideration, I would like to get home alive for the day."

Nearby, Omega and Silver, too, waited as well for the dark agent to give his order. Shadow surveyed his surroundings and the battalion of robots around them. The only exit was through the bulky menaces around them. His mind was made up in an instant. Silently, Shadow reached for his Chaos Emerald and held the gem forward, harnessing its mystical powers for the feats he was about to perform.

"Chaos Con…" Shadow exclaimed, but his signature chant was cut short when a loud, riotous buzz rang viciously against his eardrum, causing him a massive headache and stunning all of his senses in the process. Nearby, Rouge experienced the same torture, and in her case, being born a bat with hearing more acute than many other species, the buzz was unbearably torturous to her. Within seconds, both agents reached for the earbuds still inside their ears after their latest assignment and violently yanked them off before subsequently throwing them toward the ground. The delicate devices impacted with the hard surface and shattered like glass upon contact, and thus ended the infernal high-pitched frequencies they were emitting.

"What the heck was that? Ouch, my head…" Rouge mumbled, her eyes shut tight in an attempt to fight back against an incoming wave of intense dizziness brought about by the noisy assault on her hearing. Omega helped her up while Silver did the same for Shadow, his face twisted in concern as hauled the agent up to his feet.

"Are you okay?" asked the white-furred hedgehog, his worry clearly conveyed through his gaze. Shadow, in response, nodded. "I'm fine, just a malfunction with the ear comm.," he said.

"And something tells me it's not a natural one, either," Silver added, looking around.

It took a few seconds for Shadow's dizziness to fade away, and only then did he realize the lack of weight in his hand. The initial shock passed, and Shadow swiftly located the dropped Chaos Emerald before him. Before he could reach for the gem, a snake-like, flexible appendage wrapped itself around it.

Silver, on instinct, intended to use his power to retrieve the gem, but a warning shot coming from a machine gun nearby and aimed at the space inches next to his foot forced him to stand still. Begrudgingly, he dropped his hand and stood down, bidding his time and planning his moves.

The gem was then yanked away from the dark hedgehog' reach, much to the group's surprise, and subsequently moved toward the head of the GUN Trooper unit standing right before them, its massive RPGs pointed squarely at both of their faces.

The trapped agents and time traveler followed the movement of the gem, and their eyes landed upon the elusive orchestrator at last, perching on four limbs atop the robotic puppet's head and looking down at them through the six shining slits on his metallic face.

Immediately, Silver's eyes narrowed, and his entire expression darkened visibly at the sight of his devil-themed adversary before him as the latter tauntingly waved the sacred gem in front of their eyes, mocking them and enjoying every second of it.

"Gauche," he growled out the name with no small amount of disdain lacing his voice.

"Silver! Greetings and salutations, _mein_ _freund_. Do you miss me? Oh, I bet you do. Admit it, you miss me!" the futuristic killerbot boisterously and excitedly answered in a voice that sounded strangely human, worldly different from Omega's monotonous and expressionless tone. His speech also sounded somewhat speedy, which Rouge mentally compared to that performed by a young child when high-strung on sugar. Silver responded, his teeth grinding against each other in the process.

"Why should I? You tried to blow up an entire city last time we met, you homicidal maniac!"

"Ooh yes, good time, too, I made lots of big-bang-boom-booms in a few city blocks, and your bluish, freaky magic tricks helped clean up the other half of the city…Good time…Good time…But now that I think about it, my demolition points were lower than yours, so this time, I'm gonna up my game a bit, and as you see, I have you where right I want you. Isn't it exciting? Ooh, if I was made of flesh, I would have goosebumps already. Hmm, I wonder how that feels like to have your skin all crawl up like that…Oh well, guess I'll never know, but hey, being a robot, especially one as devilishly awesome as me has other perks and not to mention a few more fringe benefits, all of which I'm sure old bucket of bolt over there can appreciate," Gauche continued his tirade and pointed at Omega, who said nothing in return.

Unfazed by the lack of response and the heated glares sent at him by both Silver and Shadow, the dark killerbot simply shrugged his shoulders and moved on. Coolly and annoyingly, he took one quick look at his opponents before he continued his ludicrous ranting, "Oh come on, Silvy baby, don't look at me like that. Why the all the hate and scowl and grumbles when you see me? I swear you're always all work and no play, no wonder you're as stiff as a rigid lump of wood. And to think I organized this little get-together specifically for you…All that work just for a smile on your adorable face in return, wasted! Bummer!"

"Both you and I know that's a lie," Silver cut in, "You're doing all of this for Eggman Nega and somehow trying to bust him out in the future. Newsflash, loon, it's over. You're discovered, and we're going to put an end to your scheme right here and now."

Gauche once again shrugged nonchalantly, unaffected by the intensity of his adversary's words.

"Well, doc Nega is technically _mein_ _vater_, so I am - what do you humans say again, ah yes - _obliged_ to bust his butt out of whatever poor object that is being subjected to long, torturous sessions of being sat upon by the honestly undesirable presence and speechlessly outstanding mass. Pah, in any case, I hope you don't mind me borrowing this little shiny bag of tricks from shoddy shady sideshow Shadow over there. After all, I've done my research and learned that Chaos Control is a gigantic cheat, a life-hack, so big no-no for any Ultimate Light Show from smiley-and-sunshine, at least for the rest of the day if you please. For today's entertainment, I run the show! All aboard! Destination: Funsville, and the captain is yours truly, _moi_!"

"Are you sure that thing is a robot? From what I'm seeing, he looks and sounds like someone who should belong in a mental asylum, or a sky-high lunatic spouting gibberish at every given turn," Rouge leaned closer and whispered into Silver's ear, and begrudgingly, the younger hedgehog nodded, his exasperated look growing even more pronounced than before.

"Trust me, he's got a few, nah scratch that, _a lot of_ screws loosed inside his head, literally in his case, hence the nutcase behavior, and even for Nega's standards of mechanical loonies, that idiot is leagues apart from the rest. Give him a few seconds and he'll talk your ears off with nonsensical ramblings and rants," said Silver, "That being said, his mannerisms mask a darker and more sadistic side to his programming. His words are deceptions and distractions, and his fighting capabilities are not to be underestimated, especially when he's in top shape and in his element. So be prepared."

"Like now, for example? Reassuring to know, hon, but we're kind of already passed that preparation stage," the bat replied, eyeing the gigantic armaments aimed at them from all sides. Shadow, as usual, remained perfectly calm.

"Listen closely, you deformed _imp_, for I'm not going to repeat this," Shadow began, drawing the addressee's attention toward himself, "Return the Chaos Emerald, and I will at least allow you to retain some of your consciousness after I'm done with you. Don't return the Emerald, and I'll turn you to a heap of scraps right here, right now. Your choice."

"Oh yeah, you're a real diplomat in the making, partner. Threatening a maniac that can control massive mechanical titans with massiver guns pointed directly at our faces…Oh, I'm sure he's _sold_," Rouge muttered sarcastically again despite their current predicament.

"Do you have to make light of everything, Rouge?" Shadow asked, slightly annoyed.

"Trust me, _light_ is something of a luxury we can honestly use more of at the moment," Rouge replied, gesturing around the room shrouded in a gloomy veil of blackness except for the small area around the four trapped heroes, illuminated only by the cyan light radiating from Silver's psychic aura.

This time, her partner paid her out-of-place comment no mind in favor of concentrating on whatever was to come.

"Hmm, two options presented by the Ultimate Lifeform, let me see," Gauche sat down and assumed the pretense of thoughtfulness, all the while juggling the Emerald carelessly with his nimble tail. His head tilted to one side, and his arms were crossed, childishly appearing as though he was really lost in thought.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, which option should I follow? Moeny, mainy, meeny, oe. Ooh I know, ahem: _Hell_ _no_! Squads! Ready. Set. Up them blow!"

With that order uttered, the closest GUN Troopers under his influence simultaneously opened fire on the trapped beings, the thunderous noises of multiple continuous gunshots ripping ferociously through the air, trumped only in volume by the roaring, high-frequency bout of hysterical laughter elicited unabashedly by the devilish and mentally unstable future machine.

"And they complain I don't know how to kick things off with a _bang_," said Gauche, his voice slurred by the giggles in between each syllable. The maddening sounds of gunshots stopped after a while, and at the epicenter of the perimeter, a thick smoke screen hovered ominously, carrying with it the strong incense of gunpowder and incinerated metal pieces.

"Well done!" exclaimed Gauche as he playfully tapped the head of the Trooper he was sitting on. "Or maybe it was medium-rare? Hmm…on second thoughts, nah. Definitely overcooked. Grilled hedgehogs on a stick anyone? It's on me," he jested to the robots before he burst out laughing again, his laughter uncontrollably and movements even more erratic than before, his tail swinging wildly from left to right and his entire body quaking with each laugh that came out.

"Target locked on…" said a flat voice coming from within the veil of smoke, snapping the fiendish creation out of his self-indulged amusement. Curiously, Gauche leaned forward a little from where he was, his sensors faintly picking up signals of life beyond the veil of gunpowder smoke. Suddenly, a missile flew straight from the shadowed spot and flew directly toward the devil-like robot.

Had Gauche reacted and jumped out of the way a split second later, he would have received the full force of the destructive projectile, which proved powerful enough to cleanly blow up the head of the Trooper on which he had been previously perching on.

"Heads up!" cried another voice inside the screen moments after the explosion.

Upon landing on all four on the ground, Gauche's sensor picked up yet another energy reading, this time coming straight behind him. A familiar flash of cyan aura flared up where the readings originated, and a split second later, Gauche found himself suspended in mid-air, his entire being trapped and encased within a coating of Silver's psychic aura, physically immobilized. With him paralyzed, his influence over the Troopers weakened, and the units walked around and opened fire aimlessly on the members of Team Dark.

The three agents effortlessly evaded all incoming projectiles, and dealt with the puppets with practiced ease.

"Aww, I'm tagged," Gauche whined. "Now I'm _it_, and I'm better at hiding."

"And now, you're about to be scheduled for shut down as well, Gauche, but before that…" retorted the psychic user as he quickly retrieved the Chaos Emerald and sent it toward Shadow. The GUN Troopers were about to open fire once more, but with a simple cry of Chaos Control, Shadow unleashed a massive shockwave around himself and his two partners, the force of which proved devastating enough to reduce the closer units to scrap metals in a second.

"So much for respecting company's properties," Rouge commented with a laugh. "And if the higher-ups demand compensations for this mess, it's all on you, Shadow."

"Why me?" asked the dark hedgehog, voice dry.

"Do you see any other immortals around here, sans Omega and the rest of the machines?" she answered, smiling a little. "You can probably go without eating for a few months, me, nuh-uh."

"Face it, Gauche," said Silver with a triumphant grin on his face, "You're trapped, your control is over the Troopers is gone. Your initial advantage over us has just been lost. Basically, you're finished here. Now, drop the tirade and give it to me straight, what are your plans?" Silver interrogated the trapped adversary, who in return, only shrugged dismissively.

"Whoa? _Moi_, finished?" he asked, his voice mimicking the emotion of humor, "Nonsense, pal. My act is still ongoing for a while longer. I must admit, though, for a celebrated hero of your status and experience, you don't seem to be able to see the _big_ _picture_ behind everything, do you? Honestly, Silver, you're so far out of _focus _and definitely out of your _depths_ this time."

"What do you mean?" Silver, tired of the other's tirade, spat out impatiently, "What big picture?"

"If I tell you, it'll spoil the fun, now won't it? It'll be like I organize a surprise party and advertise it to the one whom I want to surprise. Nah, I may be crazy in the head, but I ain't stupid."

"Gosh, why do I have to deal with you of all things?"

"Oh I'm sorry, would you prefer being saddled up with Droite instead?" asked Gauche, still showing no sign of submission any time soon, only humor. "'Cause I'm sure that sneaky size-and-shape-altering sister of mine can be just as crazy and loony-bin-crazy as I am, sometimes even unfathomably worse depending on who or what she's majestically masquerading as. You really should have seen her posing as the doc, magnificent show! Made the lesser robots go _nuts_!"

Silver, now rather impatient by the meaningless words of his enemy, telepathically yanked Gauche closer.

"I don't prefer you to your sister and vice versa, but at the very least, she knows how to be quiet when she should be. You, on the other hand, run your mouth too much."

"Hey, she's the _straight man_ of the group and I'm the _funny man_ of the troupe. It's like yin and yang, you know, one cannot exist without equilibrium and all that philosophical jazz I deleted from my memory. Too much of a hassle!"

"…Fine, then answer me this," Silver's hand balled into fists, and accordingly, the armor of Gauche began to crack under the increased pressure. "Where is your real body?"

"Uh…Hello?" Gauche sang, gesturing his tail all over himself, patronizing. "What am I? Chopped liver?"

"No, you're weak. The _current_ _you_ are weak. Normally, you would be able to put an entire base under siege, but you haven't done it here yet despite this place being two centuries behind on technology and security. It means either you don't want to or that you can't. And the latter case seems to be true, for you're still trapped there, even though you, at your full power, can easily assume your viral form and escape my clutch. You're not at your hundred percent, so the one I see here is only a fragment of the real Gauche."

"Dearie, I blame the vicious jet lag I got for my…underachievement-y performances. You know how those are," Gauche joked again, undaunted. "Traveling through time, and then hiding myself inside an obsolete Umbra," he shivered mockingly at that idea, "Worst three hours of my life spent inside a casket of junk. Dark and stupid and simple and…urgh...just urgh. Now where was I, oh yes, and then shoving myself inside a very, very uncomfortable and claustrophobic trunk and then shipping myself here…Long journey, cheap flight, bumpy road, tight space, no sleep, no sustenance, working late at an infernal hour of three in the freaking morning, entertaining you, gosh, I'm such a busy bot. So bring them together and voila - you do the math, Silv. Go through all that and see if you can still function normally."

"You're a machine," Silver snarled, irritated. The other members of Team Dark standing behind him seemed to be annoyed as well, but they said nothing.

"Your point being?" Gauche shot back, head tilted to one side. The frown on the other's face deepened.

"Look," Shadow, having heard enough of the roundabout and meaningless exchange between the two, decided to enter the verbal match, with a rifle obtained from a fallen Trooper held tightly in his hand, locked and loaded. "I don't have much time for this. So choose your words carefully the next time you open your mouth. One wrong breath and I'll introduce a part of you to my little buddy here," he paused and loaded the weapon, his movement deliberately slow and intimidating, before adding, "Capisce?"

"Huh," Gauche eyed the rifle, head tilted to one side, before his vision was set on Shadow. "Oh hello there, I didn't know _Snow_ _White_ had another dwarf called _Evilly_, or is it the Prince Daring? Meh, to heck with it. Go ahead, pull the trigger, I _dare_ you."

_Bang_! A booming noise blared up and ripped through the air, cutting off Gauche's taunt. The sound of gunshot was then followed by another noise of bullet hitting metal, sending the hit target plummeting to the ground with a loud clank. The sudden noise made Silver cringe, but his control over his power was not weakened, still holding onto the rogue robot.

"Dare accepted," replied Shadow as he blew on the barrel, dispersing the smoke coming out, before he reloaded the rifle.

"Ouch…My ears," the white-furred hedgehog moaned and rubbed his ear before shooting Shadow a mean look. "Don't. Do. That. Ever. Again! I hate guns!" he said, glaring at his ally, who seemed unconcerned.

"Wow…Now I don't have _a leg to stand on_…" Gauche mumbled and gazed down, noticing the right leg that had been hit by the bullet, or to be more specific, the emptiness where his right leg had attached to his body a few seconds ago. "I have a feeling you'll be quite an exciting opponent to play against in a game of Truth or Dare, Shadow. I'm sure it'll be quite a _blast_."

"The next one won't be as merciful, so stop the act and start talking," the dark agent pressured and aimed his weapon at Gauche's head this time. As usual, the robot appeared indifferent, apparently impervious to fear and all intimidation tactics thanks to his mechanical roots.

"I suggest you start talking," Rouge cut in, "Shadow's capable of many things, but making empty threats is not one of them."

"Oh come on, why the perpetual scowl, Shades? It's not as if you're not _dark_ enough already," Gauche, ignorant to advice, carried on with his taunts and jabs. "Have fun, laugh a little. Not to brag, but I'm pretty good at making people laugh, I leave some _in stitches _when I'm through, and other times, I poke them too much, they practically _burst_ and laugh their _heads off_." He then burst out laughing manically again, making the frowns on Silver and Rouge's face to deepen and harden.

"You're one real sicko, you know that," said Rouge, disgusted.

"Why thank you, milady. I do try my best to impress. Future robots, we have our sense of humor as well, unlike the ones in this era, emotionless and stiff like that one over there, Omega, is it?"

"I know humor," Omega replied in a monotonous voice. "Knock knock."

"Ooh, a classic. Alright, humor me," Gauche hummed and decided to play along, "Who's it?"

"Elvis," answered Omega.

"Elvis who?" asked Gauche, inquisitive.

"Elviscerate you," the powerhouse member of Team Dark replied coolly before flexing his sharp claws, fully intent on carrying out his words for real, and would have if Rouge and Silver had not interrupted. Gauche, on the other hand, continued to laugh, uncontrollable.

"No!" shouted the young psychic desperately in an attempt to placate his allies. "The creep's riling you up on purpose so you'll destroy him and possibly get rid of all traces and leads. He's only a clone, expandable."

"Party popper…" the devilish creation whined. "And here I was looking forward to the fireworks."

After a brief pause and a long intake of breath, Silver, now somewhat calmer than before, turned back to his captive and spoke, serious and grim.

"Gauche, fine. If you have no intention of talking, it's your choice no matter how idiotic that is," Silver, running out of patience already, spoke up. "I'll just contact the Time Guardians right here, right now and have them trap you inside a secure cyber cell with an impenetrable firewall. I have a feeling my friend would love to have you studied and dissected in order to produce an antivirus program tailored specifically for your future meddling."

Gauche, still unflinching in his resolve to stay defiant until the bitter end, bit back within a heartbeat with another jab, "Well, then you have to move fast, Silvy baby." From his slit-like eyes, a holographic countdown was projected, counting down from fifteen, much to Silver's horror.

"Looks like I'm kinda out of time here, and I have another show booked for later. And now, since I opened the act with a bang, it's only fitting I should go out in the same manner - with style! So, catch ya later, chief, since you know, I'm _it_ now and all! Ha ha ha!" Gauche added and as soon as his last word was spoken, the countdown reached zero. After a brief beep, the robot exploded. Thanks to Silver's power, the explosion was greatly contained, and thus, no harm was done.

"Darn it," the psychic cursed and looked at the inanimate remains of his adversary. "He's gone. Again!"

"Are you all alright?" he turned around and asked his allies, genuinely concerned for their welfare.

"Dandy," Rouge answered. "I'm just glad that thing shut up, for my ears will surely to fall off if they hear that chipmunk-like squeaking of that maniac for a second longer. That guy's a piece of work. But out of curiosity alone, what do you mean by a _fragment_?" Rouge asked as she approached. Shadow and Omega were close behind.

"Gauche is a computer virus, but in both the cyber world and in real life, and you know those things, they spawn and multiply all the time, and they're everywhere. Gauche's no different. He can create solid and viral clones of himself, the extent of which I don't know yet, and split pieces of his consciousness into those clones and direct those subordinate pieces to do as the main body wills. The larger the consciousness, the more powerful his clone is and the closer it is to the original Gauche. The smaller the piece, the weaker his control over other machines, but the clone will be much harder to detect."

"So basically," Shadow began, "This enemy of yours can play the roles of both the hacker and the virus. The one we've just dealt with was a very tiny, barely identifiable fragment. Nega's head is sure full of fun things. I suppose it runs in the family's bloodline."

"Yes, and I know Gauche, he said he had _another show booked for later,_ then it means he's still out there somewhere. But I'll deal with that later. Right now, please help me clean up this mess to make sure that no changes take place in the future. Or at least, any more than what have already been changed."

"What do we do with the broken Troopers?" Rouge asked, surveying the wreckage around them. As many as half of the units were lost, while the others shut down after Gauche's control was gone, and she was certain she would be neck-deep in paperwork again.

"Silver, gather the destroyed units together. I'll send them away," Shadow said, and with his telekinesis, the future hedgehog did as told. Within minutes, a large ensemble of burnt metals, debris and smashed weapons was placed in the middle of the room. Utilizing Chaos Control again, Shadow teleported the pile into the nearest volcano he could find, effectively erasing the evidence of the skirmish. The remaining units were unarmed, and were put back into place after they had been given a thorough scan to make sure no lingering influence of Gauche remained.

"No anomaly detected. All units' systems are normal." Omega concluded after ten consecutive and thorough virus scans on himself and on the other Troopers.

"Good. Now, we need a story, a believable one at that," Rouge said to her two partners nearby. "Any ideas, boys? For Silver's out of the question."

"You're the cunning spy, you get to that. I, on the other hand, have an entire police squad outside to deal with, so excuse me," replied Shadow with a rare display of something akin to a smirk on his face before promptly disappearing in haste with Omega by his side, leaving behind a shocked and subsequently fuming bat alone with an equally shocked Silver.

"Did he just…tease you?" asked the young psychic, dumbfounded.

"That…That little, lazy, irresponsible…Urgh! Shadow! I'll get you for this later!" the bat exclaimed and stomped her heel on the ground. "I can't believe that hedgehog! The nerves of him!"

"Okay…" Silver said slowly and backed away from the female agent, trying his best to refrain from laughing aloud at the scene before him. "Since this is clearly an internal G.U.N. and Team Dark's affair, I believe I'd best be on my way to avoid unnecessary interruptions and, you know, finding Gauche and avoiding questioning and all…"

"Alright, I understand" Rouge spoke as she turned to the younger male, having calmed down from her outburst, "In any case, thanks for the assist, I suppose," Rouge cried again and stormed off toward the exit, "If you hadn't helped, who knows what that Gauche could have done to G.U.N. with thirty of those Troopers there along with the org's database. Now, I have a few calls to make, an entire database to scan for virus just to be sure, and lots and lots of papers to file. This is going to be a nightmare, but I suppose I could see you out."

"Nah, you seem busy enough without having to worry about me, Rouge, so I'll show myself out through the back, but thank you for the offer," Silver politely declined the offer with a small smile. "And thank you for your help as well. Now that Gauche is gone, Eggman Nega will be forced to stay in jail for a very long time…or at least I hope so…" Silver paused and took another look back at the room behind him. His eyes ran from one place to another in search of something even he did not know. Everything, as Rouge had confirmed after the clean-up, was in place, but for some reasons, Silver's mind was not entirely at ease…The feelings continued to haunt him, unforgiving and persistent…

"Come on Porcupine, let's get out of here before the agents flood back inside," Silver was broken out of his reverie by the voice of the bat, "Besides, I'm in serious need for some fresh air to rid my nose of this heavy stench of gunpowder. Sheesh!" Rouge said, and with that, both of them – with Silver being the more reluctant in his stride - headed out toward the exit and locked the room, returning it to its original state of silence.

And despite their meticulous scanning and careful inspection of the entire room, not a single one of them, even Omega, had noticed a tiny spider hanging from the ceiling above, watching their every movement from the very beginning to the end, completely undetected and hidden within the dark shadows, away from sight and silently bidding for its time to come in the future.

Patiently…

…

Two hundred years into the future, inside the Time Guardians' Maximum Detention Center…Solitary Confinement Section…

Eggman Nega sat on the edge of his lone bed within his small isolated cell, his fingers absentmindedly and constantly flipping the pages of a book he had read over a thousand times out of sheer boredom. The doctor continued to skim through the pages aimlessly over and over again before his patience was lost. Frustrated, Eggman Nega slammed the object shut and tossed it back onto his shelf. Lying down and staring blankly at the ceiling with a heated scowl upon his visage, he allowed his mind to wander in an attempt to alleviate the boredom of solitary confinement. It was then that his eyes finally caught a little something hanging on the ceiling above – something that had never once been there before and was therefore not supposed to be there at that moment.

And yet, it was there, paradoxically.

The incarcerated doctor's lips turned upward and broke into a sly, devious grin, his eyes studying the creature with glee and delight. Quietly, he turned to his side, hiding his face completely from the prying security camera installed inside the cell. Only then did he allow muffed chuckles to escape his restraint and whisper, his voice rendered completely inaudible by the thick blanket pulled over his head.

"I do indeed have very _capable_ _hands_…" said the mad scientist gleefully cryptically, his grin widening even further underneath his cover. _Now, to wait for the sun to go down, and the nightmare shall finally begin. _

THE END.


	26. Going Slow - Oneshot

**And as I promised in the last chapter, I managed to whip up a small oneshot starring Sonic and Tails for this update. And I apologize for the lack of update for the last week. The traffic stats of my account seems to have been frozen solid (I believe I was not alone in this), and even though I kept getting new reviews to my story, the graph shows that I have no new views and no visitors to the chapters. Talk about a bummer, really. I sent three mails to the support team, and nothing's changed after eight days, still zero views and zero visitors despite the increase in the number of reviews. That's one of the reasons why I kind of lost inspiration a little, but hey, c'est la vie. Guess I just have to wait for this glitch to sort itself out, I suppose.**

**Well, in any case, onward to the story. This one's about an ordinary day (off) in the lives of the two favorite brothers. Do enjoy! :)**

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Sonic &amp; Tails – Going Slow

The inside the house was mostly quiet, unusually so, except for the constant, almost muted noises coming from the television. The voice belonging to the female reporter on the early morning news program droned on and on about something related to G.U.N.'s base recent false alarm, but at the moment, Tails paid it no mind, barely registering what the woman on screen was talking about in his state. The lone twin-tailed fox was at the time seated at his comfy chair, his back tightly pressed against the soft, cotton-like backrest of the seat, his knees tucked and pressed close to his chest, upon which draped his warm namesakes in place of a blanket – a force of habit. His blue eyes were wide open despite the late hours, appearing as though they were entirely resistant to the formidable lull of sleep. Just another night in his insomniac days, he sighed tiredly.

Groggily, the eight-year-old fox picked up the remote and changed the channels into something else, something tranquil and easy enough to ease his mind to rest. So far, hs efforts had been for naught. His mind, though tired, fought against the idea of sleep, and the hands of time continued to tick. His thumb pressed repeatedly on the button, and accordingly, the screen jumped from one channel to another. Programs after programs were shown and skipped in rapid succession.

"Cheesy comedy, no. Racing, no. Procedural crime show, no. Game show, no. Cheap horror, Chaos forbid, _no please, _just_ no_..." Tails mumbled unconsciously and carried on going through the channels. Even though his eyes stayed glued to the bright screen, which currently served as the only source of light within the living room of his own house situated near within Emerald Town where he was currently spending his days, Tails did not seem to even pay attention. Instead, his hazy eyes seemed to possess a faraway and haunting look, and his vision was not fixed on the present but rather toward the past – something haunting and memorable enough to keep the young inventor's sleep-deprived mind awake at the early hours before sunrise.

"Even after I've personally modified my own TV and have more than five hundred channels worldwide, there's still nothing to see…Man, I sure wish they would show some of those classic oldies we used to have when I was young…er…" Tails sighed and turned to TV off in defeat. "And now I'm talking to myself, which no sane person should or would spend their time and energy indulging in…Tails, zip it…Gosh…What I would do to get a break from the nightmares…" he mumbled before the rest of his sentence was rendered unintelligible by the sudden yawn which forced his mouth to open widely. His body language all hinted toward pure exhaustion, but whenever he lied down, he simply could not bring himself to fall asleep. Instead, he only tossed and turned against his cover, helpless and weary and susceptible to whatever memory-like nightmares his restless mind would call forth. It had been like this for days on end already. Tails, to his annoyance and distaste, had not been able to get a good sleep after his return from his bodiless drifting through ethereal black limbo, as he had aptly described to Sonic after the latter had freed him from the clutches of the Time Eater. The moments his lids closed, various images would mercilessly flash before him, all of which felt too horrifyingly realistic for him to convince himself it was merely a dream wrought by his ever-active mind.

_More like a memory,_ he inwardly contradicted himself and sank even further against his comfy backrest, massaging his throbbing temples gently to chase away the coming of another headache. _A nasty, dreadful memory that I don't even remember having in the first place, but why did it feel so, so real? Did I perchance develop amnesia at some point…I don't think so, or at least, I don't thing I did…So then, why do those images continue to appear to me? _

Tails closed his eyes momentarily as he remembered a series of seemingly unrelated fragments. A pair of piercing, acidic green eyes that stared at him when his own were closed…A long beam of bright energy shot out from one outstretched clawed hand flared up before him, and then…A pierce through flesh…A body fell to the ground, limp, motionless…dead…

"Sonic!" he cried aloud, opening his eyes with a violent start and almost falling out of his couch as a result. Frantically, Tails' eyes began to look around the house. No eyes watching anyone, no moving shadow, and definitely no _dead_ Sonic in sight.

His heart at last found its rhythm after a few minutes of him staying still and trying to control his breathing. Yet, the images were still so fresh, causing an involuntary shiver to run up and down the child's spine, making his body tremble as though a chilly gust of wind had just blown through and tickled the soft tissue buried underneath his golden fur. With a shake of his head, Tails quickly ridded his head of the unpleasant mental recollection.

"And I thought going to a place near the beach could help me to relax…Joke's on me, I suppose," the fox went on with his monologue before he made to get up from his seat. Groggily, he began to walk toward the kitchen for a light snack.

"If only I were old enough for coffee," he muttered softly to himself as his hands rummaged through the content of his fridge, "At least that can keep me awake when I don't want to fall asleep."

In the end, he settled for some old-fashioned hot coco to soothe his nerves. That had always done the trick before. Already used to making such a treat for himself, Tails' body could practically move on its own without the need for any dictations from his mind, which rather opted for another session of daydream regarding the lighter speckles amidst the clutters of images forever stored away inside his mental album about precious time spent with his friends. At least that put a small smile on his face, which grew wider a tad when he recalled Sonic's birthday not so long ago.

It was great to see everyone again, even Silver and Blaze, who had even gone the extra miles to cross time and space to just so they could be present for the celebration. However, the most surprising thing of all was the sudden but nonetheless welcoming inclusion of the younger version of himself along with the chubbier and more excitable Sonic of his childhood.

"Talk about a blast to the past," he chuckled to himself as he stared into the hot, newly-brewed liquid. _And was I really that chatty and pudgy back then? Huh…Spending some time with Sonic sure changed a guy, but for better or worse, that requires further evaluation to ascertain,_ he mused, chuckling to himself in humor.

Placing his steaming cup against his lips, Tails began to take small sips, letting the warm liquid run down his throat. The warmth that followed immediately was welcoming indeed. Some of his tension was melted away, and his muscles relaxed. A sigh of satisfaction was released afterward.

"That…hit the spot," he muttered and sipped again, lost in his own thoughts. It was the perfect distraction his mind needed at that moment, to steer clear from the nightmare that had been haunting his sleeping moments consistently for the last couple of days.

Tails did not know how long he had been sitting inside his kitchen, but when the bright ray of sunlight bypassed his blinds and hit his eyes, he figured at least two hours had passed since his reverie commenced.

"A new day awaits," he sighed, half in relief for the dissipation of darkness but half in weariness from the consecutive lack of sleep. Being quite a notorious night-owl himself among his friends when it came to losing sleep over work, it was not an unfamiliar feeling for the young inventor, but at least when he had lost sleep in favor of his project, his mind had been occupied. "And if I remember correctly, Sonic is due to come by today for our planned hangout…Great…Just great…Weeks after weeks after weeks of anticipation, and now here I am, tired and restless and looking worse than a beat-up zombie in a cheap production."

Tails washed the emptied cup and turned the lights on, trying his best to appear normal and well, but he was highly doubtful he could keep the ruse up for very long.

After all, Sonic was the one who could read him like an open book. _Sigh_.

_Today's going be a long day_, Tails whined mentally before heading back to the living room to wait for his friend's arrival. The clock struck six sharp, and instantly, a knock on the door was heard. The fox cringed, but soon recomposed and steeled himself for the ordeal ahead.

"Well, godspeed, Miles Prower, and hopefully, Sonic won't find out and do something embarrassing to you…again, and you won't have to _disappoint_ him for coming all this way for naught, but I seriously doubt your chances of success," said the fox before he smacked himself in the forehead again, "And first thing first, you seriously need to stop talking to yourself, like _now_! Oh Chaos help me…my head hurts…" he moaned pitifully, feeling the soothing effect of his coco fading away fast – too fast for his liking.

Not wishing to rudely make his best friend stand alone outside, Tails quickly made his way for the door and opened it. At once, he was greeted by a very cheerful hedgehog who seemed to be too energetic, in his opinion, even at the early hours in the morning.

"Hey there, Tails," he said with a wave of his hand, a friendly smile present on his face. Tails, despite his condition had to smile, tiredly yet genuinely, at the hedgehog.

"Good morning, Sonic," he replied and stood aside for the other to enter. "How are you today?"

"Dashing!" Sonic answered, full of vigor, "And yes, pun totally intended."

Tails instinctively rolled his eyes at that comment, "Of course it was," he mumbled before heading to the kitchen again. "I'm just about to start breakfast now. So come in. Pancakes okay to you?"

"Sure bud. And then, as planned, we are going to have some fun for the rest of the day. Just you and me, just like the good old times."

Tails' smile widened at that thought. It was true what the other had said, and a little bit nostalgic as well. Life had, admittedly, been extremely generous to the young fox and blessed him with numerous friends, each unique in their own special ways, but at times when life grew a bit too hard, he still wished to be granted a return ticket for a joyride back to his childhood, even for a brief moment, and spend some quality time with his first and most loyal friend he had been fortunate enough to meet.

And now, he had that chance – one he had been waiting for weeks on end.

And it definitely sounded like a dream – a wonderful dream come true…if he didn't have that accursed headache which seemed to grow gradually worse with every step he took, of course. Through sheer will and determination alone, Tails ignored the week-old accumulated fatigue as best he could and began working on his pancakes.

_Let's hope I can withstand it and somehow enjoy the rest of the day with Sonic. The last thing I want is ruin this chance,_ he thought with an internal wince as another throb struck him, this one noticeably more vicious than the last ones. His hands moved with practiced precision, and soon, the pancakes were ready to be served. Tails headed over to the fridge to fetch the bottle of orange juice, appearing to be normal and keeping his balance straight as his feet moved along the way.

Breakfast was complete, and now, he could sit down for a while - a fact for which the fox was glad and grateful.

What he did not realize in his weariness, however, was the serene, critical pair of emerald eyes watching his every step and every twitch from the living room, silently taking in and committing to memory each and every move he had made. Inside them, skepticism mixed with concern was seen, yet well concealed for the time being.

Minutes later, Tails called Sonic in and they had their breakfast together in comfortable silence, with a few remarks being made by the hedgehog about how he had missed his best friend's homemade pancakes.

"Why thank you. I've had practice, but this is about the only edible thing I can make, unfortunately," Tails had replied with a small smile.

A few minutes passed, and both plates were cleaned of their contents.

"Now then," the younger of the duo started again after he had put the used plates and glasses in the sink to be washed later, "What do you want to do first for our day off, Sonic? It's your idea of a get-together."

A look of contemplation crossed the hedgehog's face, but his eyes were fixed on Tails. The gaze of his best friend was soft, but it still made him somewhat uncomfortable, feeling as though Sonic could see past whatever ruse he was putting up to mask his growing exhaustion. Forcefully stuffing all the discomforts and tiredness down, Tails gave his best friend his best version of a faked smile – a convincingly legitimate one at that. In a tone laced with playfulness, Tails spoke again in hope of banishing the stillness.

"Not getting any younger here, Sonic," he said, head tiled to one side.

"Alright," the other replied and stood up, stretching his back, "Then let's kick off the day with a bang, old-fashioned style. You, me, race across Emerald Town for a little morning exercise, now! Loser gets to do the dishes tonight. Up for the challenge?"

"Yeah, as much as I'd love to do just that, here's the thing, we just ate, so I've got to decline," Tails answered, pointing out the small flaw with the idea. Also, he was really, really against having to exert himself too much right now, with his headache and weariness getting worse by the minute. He could barely stand straight, and all he desired at the moment was some rest and desperately hoped that his sleep would not be filled with nightmares again. But still, he wished to do something with Sonic…His mind was torn in two conflicting halves, but it was the latter option which appealed to him more.

Looking at Sonic with an exaggerated cringe and sticking his tongue out in disgust, Tails followed up on his previous statement, "It's still too early, and I don't want to start the day on an _empty_ _stomach_, thank you very much. Once is one time too many already."

"Aw, you're no fun," Sonic joked, teasing.

"Hey, I'm fun. I know fun and I know how to have fun, but at the same time, I'm rational."

"Alright, alright," Sonic waved dismissively before resuming, "Then how about we just stick to walking along the shore then? Doing a great and simple morning exercise at your _snail_ pace, enjoying the beautiful beach shimmering under the early sunlight, taking in the sweet, undefiled air of the morning and relishing the feeling of the cool breeze sweeping all over you. Sounds like a lovely plan for you, little buddy?"

Again, a _no_ would be his preferred answer, but too bad for Tails this time, he had no valid excuse to back up a refusal, lest he would risk Sonic finding out about his tiredness and subsequently ruining the day the both of them had looked forward to for weeks. That was not his plan. So, with strained enthusiasm, he slightly nodded.

"Sounds…inviting, actually," Tails stated.

"Cool! Then let's go."

Sonic then opened the door and, with a playful respectful bow as though he was welcoming a member of a royal family, the hedgehog gestured toward the exit with his open hand, he said to his best friend, "After you, sir Prower."

Tails, despite himself, rolled his eyes again, amused by the older being's unpredictable and, most of the time, completely random antics. "And here I thought you'd finally gotten over your weird and out-of-place obsession with the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table."

"Hey! I resent that! That adventure was as real as you and me," replied Sonic, playfully and only a tad defensive, "And let me tell you, it's not every day you get to be a king of an entire kingdom, much less a king of an entire kingdom filled with magical creatures, dragons, magic and demons and swords and…"

"Okay, okay, _your_ _majesty_," Tails interjected light-heartedly and this time offered his best friend a bow as well, if only to humor the other and his crazy fantasy of grandeurs and adventures. "I do believe, _sire_, it is best that we be on our way before the light of day is completely swallowed by the glooming descent of foreboding darkness and with it, the appearances of hellish creatures bent on mercilessly gnawing everything on their paths."

"Alright, alright, you little sarcastic furball," Sonic chuckled and stood upright, "Let's just go. I know how you absolutely despise wasting daylight and all that," he added, but still waited by the door, holding it open for his best friend.

"Yeah, you know me all too well, Sonic," Tails commented and smiled before he did as told.

The air outside was refreshing as Sonic had claimed, and in some way, it helped relax his tense muscles a little. They began their walk along the shore nearby, with Tails taking a few steps ahead and Sonic a little distance behind – odd, but Tails had long learned that questioning Sonic would do him no good, for the hedgehog always did things as he pleased, and his pace changed very often, almost whimsically as he noticed, holding no specific patterns to them at all.

The scenery of the ocean afar was mesmerizing indeed – clean, clear and blue. Waves upon waves of the endless oceanic body would, every few seconds, gently crash against the golden shore upon which they were treading, soaking the sun-basked sand and occasionally leaving behind small gifts of the sea with their spirited series of charges and retreats. The faint salty taste of the ocean carried by the tender breezes that blew past his fur was apparent, and greedily, Tails closed his eyes and took deep inhales, feeling the soft caresses of nature trickling his fur and being. Tails let out a long, content sigh.

It was truly a great morning - something both brothers appreciated immensely.

But throughout the entire walk, Sonic's eyes only stopped to study the uncontaminated beauty stretching before for very brief seconds. The rest was spent on watching out for his little buddy ahead, who, in his opinion, was definitely acting off. He had seen Tails exhausted after his projects, but something in his mind – his instincts honed throughout the years perhaps - told him this was different, painfully and obviously different.

_Of course, leave it to Tails to think he could fool anyone with his mortifyingly terrible acting skills_, Sonic thought inwardly and outwardly shook his head, half in irritation and the other half in a nostalgic sense of fondness. _Sorry to crush your dream of being an actor, kid, but like you said, I simply know you too well – all too well._

With his objective set, Sonic picked up the pace and walked alongside the fox seconds later. Wordlessly, he swung an arm over Tails' shoulder and pulled him into a one-sided hug.

"I must admit," he began, "Going slow does have its perks from time to time."

"Of course it does," Tails said, "In the crazy fast-paced lives we're all forced to live nowadays, a small break like this is without doubt a welcoming luxury."

"So, kiddo, been up to anything lately? Any indoor explosions I need to be informed of?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary much," Tails shrugged, "I just spent time working on fixing a couple of things and keeping an ear out for Eggman's activities. You know, same old same old. What about you? Knowing you, I'm sure there will be some entertaining tales for dinner later on."

"Of course! And you know me, I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere. I go wherever the wind calls, no destination fixed in mind."

"Yah, I noticed. Did you find anything interesting this time?"

"Hmm, a few small adventures and explorations here and there, and once, I did manage to run into Knuckles a while back at some newly discovered ruins in the East. Fun story, I'll tell you about it later. Basically, it ended with a chest full of treasure and ancient artifacts hitting Davy Jones' locker."

"Huh…Sounds…serious," Tails muttered. "I take it Knuckles didn't take that too well, being all pro treasure hunter and all."

"Trust me, kiddo, he didn't, but it was the only thing we could do back then to avoid having an entire cave collapse on our heads, and let's just say old Knucklehead did not enjoy that idea…like at all. Now that was good old-fashioned adventure."

Tails nodded, knowing that he would have another great tale to listen to. Suddenly, his eyes felt a little heavy. He did not know how much time had passed since their walk began, but it certainly felt like hours already. The tranquility of the early morning, the beautiful scenery of nature which could only be experienced in full with all five senses and the random, idle conversations between himself and Sonic were all working together to put his sleep-deprived mind at ease and gently lull it to rest.

"Hey," Sonic spoke softly, catching his attention. "Wanna sit down for a while? There's a great shade over there." He pointed at a large shadowed area cast by the leaves of a palm tree a little distance ahead.

Tails made no protest, and instead did as told. His mind was hazy but relaxed, his eyelids were heavy, and so was the rest of his body. Twin tails laid flat on the warm sandy earth beneath them, stretched in content. He was sitting underneath the cool shade, listening to the rhythmic crashes of the waves hitting shore. His back was pressed against the palm tree as though it was the most comfortable backrest in the world. Tails' lids fluttered again as his breathing evened. It was then that he felt a hand running through his head, gently sweeping back his three stray bangs and giving his ear a scratch. Another sigh was heard before his eyes slipped closed completely.

"Go to sleep, Tails," he heard Sonic's voice whisper into his ear. The hand patting his head never once slowed down, maintaining his sleep-inducing motions.

"But…" the child mumbled sleepily as his last ounce of consciousness attempted a last-ditch effort to resist the call of slumber, "The day…"

"Rest," Sonic cut in again, his voice soft yet stern, "There'll be plenty of time for our planned hangout later, and most probably an impromptu sleepover, but until then, you should rest, kiddo. You don't have to try to please me by forcing yourself to stay awake in your current state. Heck, even the blind could tell you're dead tired from the way your voice sounds alone."

"…Thanks…" Tails muttered one last time before he was deep asleep, peacefully and dreamless for a change, his head resting against Sonic's shoulder and his tails draping over his drawn out knees. Sonic gazed down at the still fox leaning against him and smiled down at the young genius.

"Kids…" he muttered softly to himself before he took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the fresh air mixed with the salty scent of the ocean, and carefully guided Tails' head down on his lap. His effort proved to be a success, and Tails, even his slumber, smiled in content as he curled up where he was lying, his legs almost disappearing into his bushy and fluffy namesakes. That innocent sight brought another smile to the hedgehog's face.

"Like I said earlier," Sonic said quietly, one hand gently rubbing the peacefully sleeping child's head, "Going slow does have its perks from time to time, like for example, getting one really stubborn fox to loosen up and catch a few much-needed Zs."

Then he, too, leaned back comfortably and closed his eyes in great satisfaction, giving in to the tranquility around him and immersing himself in the serene and relaxing tune enchantingly performed by the perfect duet of sand and sea afar.


	27. Dawn of Apocalypse - Prologue

**Hey there guys, I'm back again along with a brand new chapter to show, and as the title suggests, this is the start of yet another multi-chapter short (long?) story. Remember the journey mentioned by Sonic in the previous chapter? Well, it's not there for fun. It has something to do with this next story, along with another famous yet highly overlooked element taken from one of the spin-off games (which one in particular though, I'm not telling yet for the fun of it). In any case, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. But if it's bad, well, don't hesitate to say so. It's part of self-improvement I guess, Live and Learn and all that. :)**

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Dawn of Apocalypse – Prologue

"August 10th, 20XX,

As so concisely instructed by the locals of Krajak, a quaint and isolated little village located at the very heart of Eastside Island on the far region of the planet, which I believe had not advanced much since the dawn of the Stone Age based on their primitive and honest-to-creator obsolete equipments and tools, all of which forced me to actually double-check and double-double-check whether or not I was still in the same timeline or not, and luckily for me, I was, I made my journey toward the fabled Ruins of Krajak. Cutting through the whole pointless chase yadda yadda yadda, I at last arrived at my destination after braving through the numerous obstacles scattered around in the most peculiar yet unfathomably effective manners so meticulously devised to chase away any and all attempts at intruding upon the sacred lands constituting the famed Ruins – quite appropriately categorized to be among the most mysterious places left on the planet, for many before had tried to reach this place, none had succeeded, or so I had been told by the old men. The sights that greeted me when I got to the location where a temple was allegedly standing were… most curious but somehow not at all unexpected.

The enormous heaps of rocks and pebbles which I deduced had, at some point in the past no longer remembered by men, represented the pinnacle of an ancient civilization lied still where they had fallen down after the latest earthquake which had thoroughly obliterated their aged structures. The pitiful and pathetic remnants lied unknown to those who had not dared to venture far into this specific location of Eastside Island, situated at the outermost position of the land, composed in its entirety of the most treacherous and lethal of terrains and filled to the brim with environmental and biological hazards far beyond mortal's comprehensions, all of which could easily devastate and subdue even the bravest and most experienced of adventurers that visited the site – something which had been, for countless times throughout the ages as my records provided, proven to be an undeniable fact, and a bone-chilling one at that. Luckily, I have no bones, but whatever. Where was I? Oh yes, the serious narration – or as serious as I want it to be, meh… In any case, due to the ruin's fearsome reputations and the unprecedented death counts it had so infamously boasted, not many adventurers and treasure hunters would come here for a trip, despite murmured and unfounded rumors circulated among the locals that the one of these ruins was housing one of the most ludicrous amount of fortune in the entire world, stored away by the ancient kings of an age long past. Well, fewer history lessons for the young then, yay them.

Anyway, the remnants, though old, had been – as described by those paranoid locals - more or less intact and enduring the trials of time, courtesy of the ancients' unimpeachable architectural breakthroughs of their fabled era, where gods had been present and deities had once roamed the Earth freely, abusively exerting their control and dominance over the lesser beings, throwing them to harsh slavery and subjugation. Unfortunately, as prescribed by the saying: "_dust to dust, ashes to ashes_," the fate of a millennia-old marvel along with its countless legends and myths was not meant to last until the end of time, for its own had run out after the brief and unexpected visitation of two extraordinary creatures, both of whom were celebrated adventurers known far and wide. According to the locals, the two unusual individuals, anthropomorphic in species and nature – one red and the other blue, had arrived at the village approximately a week ago on this exact day, by chance it had seemed (but knowing those two, chance seems most unlikely) and both of them had asked for directions toward the Ruins of Krajak for a "_joyride_" (and they call me loony), and days later, miraculously, both had made it back alive, bruised, injured, their bodies littered with lacerations of varying degrees, but still very, very much alive and intact (Shame, and I was actually looking forward to some gory materials to kick off the day).

Both claimed to have found the lost treasure of the ancients, but due to a series of defensive mechanism installed within the ruins, the treasure was lost in the end, claimed by the pitch-dark, endless abyss of waters below, never again to resurface. The tale was, as I had been told by the elders, already transcending toward a legendary status, and some of the older and more long-lived members of the desolate village had already worked on the tale, glorifying it with –I'm sure- make-believe exaggerations meant to excite the easily impressionable upcoming generations – an epic as I was informed, but I was not at all interested in such a lengthy novelty. Words, songs, poems, theatrics, what need have I – a _perfect_ being which has already transcended humanity itself and reached toward new heights on the ever elongated ladder of evolution – for such pointless pastimes? No, my interests lie elsewhere (some gore here, some madness there, some chaos everywhere and some devastation along the way any day, but no, not in this case), particularly, at the chest of treasure claimed to have sunk unto the darkest of the depths below. The gold, the treasure… I care not for such worthless mortal possessions - they could be consumed by fish or used by octopuses as decorations for their underwater forts for all I care. After all, to me, they are but heaps of glitters, shiny, eye-catching yet utterly valueless. No, what I want is something else, something far, far more powerful, far more precious in essence and far more sinister than anything I have uncovered in the history of creations… Something which I have been tasked to find by my master, and find it I shall, even if it means getting down and dirty with the primal and primitive dwellers of the deep… What I want, I will get without fail: The Amulet of…"

The rest of the page was unfortunately slurred, possibly ruined from the moisture of the ground at which point it had been picked up a few minutes prior.

Silver quickly flipped through the pages again, his fingers moving carefully as they held the material he was holding, taking extra precaution not to tear or destroy his latest findings on his quest. The following page of the journal he had managed to locate, much to his dismay, also suffered the same fate as the last few paragraphs he had gone through: slurred, unintelligible, unreadable, with the notable exception of the final words at the end. With a sigh of frustration, Silver closed the journal. His eyes then analytically studied the cover, made in a dark-colored and thick material – leather, he had concluded based on the texture. Upon it read the words which made the usually cool-headed hedgehog of the future frown, his eyes narrowing in a rare display of unconcealed irritation.

On the cover, the lines _Property of Gauche de Nega – So Hands/Paws off (and I mean yours specifically, Silvie)_ were pompously written in the flashy hue of crimson ink – the origin of which Silver did not and would not bother finding out, knowing his adversary's whimsical tendencies toward extraordinary lunacies and acts implying mental instabilities. However, the journal itself, which he had found lying curiously at the entrance to the collapsed Ruins of Krajak, and the contents he had skimmed through with haste spiked his concern.

"If Gauche was here, why did he leave his journal behind? And why keep a journal in the first place? A bait, perhaps…" Silver wondered aloud as he looked at the deserted chamber in which he had successfully located after a restless period of twenty-four hours spent purely on chasing after various whispered leads regarding a strange individual donning a medieval devil-like armor running amok across the globe. The place, in his opinion, was noticeably spacious, and it must have served as some sort of cathedral or gathering hall due to the distinct differences and holistic settings it held in comparison to the other locations he had visited earlier.

However, the strangest part of the chamber was at the very center of it. In the middle of the cathedral-like space was a huge hole, through which the dark depths mentioned inside the collected journal could be seen. And it was a chilling sight – a large, endless body of water shadowed by eternal darkness without even a single glimmer of light. _Spooky_.

Shaking his attention away from the pit, Silver then studied the opened chest lying next to his location, the inside of which was, true to the rumors cited in the pages, filled and stocked with treasure immeasurable – a ridiculous amount he had never seen before. But Silver, never one to be tempted by material possessions or the allure of greed, paid it no mind for the time being, and instead looked at one single spot of interest – a spot imprinted into the inside of the chest's lid. It was a secret compartment, inside which an impression of a necklace could be seen. Yet the object itself, which was supposed to be placed there, was not. Obviously, Gauche had been able to carry out what he had claimed, and the Amulet of whatever nameless ancient deities or kings he had yearned for was now safely in his grasp. What worried him more was the mystery surrounding the artifact - what functions that Amulet served in his deranged scheme or to what end Gauche was hoping to achieve with it.

The frown on Silver's face deepened, and his eyes shone dangerously.

"Never mind. Whatever it is he's planning this time, I'll make sure it doesn't succeed," Silver murmured before he swiftly made his way out of the Ruins using his telekinetic power. Emerging through a hole on the ceiling created after the collapse, Silver saved an enormous amount of time scouting through the mazes and labyrinths he had passed hours earlier. As soon as he was out in the open again, the hedgehog immediately set course for the location mentioned at the readable part written at the end of the journal.

"The sole object which can unlock the full potential of the Amulet – the source of endless powers in the world, and the only vessel in existence which can contain the greatest darkness known to all beings – The Master Emerald," Silver muttered under his breath as he flew, reciting the lines from memory.

With his destination locked in mind and hoping to beat Gauche to the goal, Silver picked up the pace even further, flying at his top speed and subsequently becoming a cyan blur which passed and split the surface of the ocean below in his wake.

His eyes shone with a sense of determination and his hands, luminous with the sheen of psychic energy around them, tightened into fists. A series of strident booms was heard, ripping through the air and upsetting the waves below along with those that dwelled below. Within seconds from his takeoff, Silver was already gone, like a comet that sped through the lands and seas.

_Next stop: Angel Island… Full speed ahead! _


	28. Dawn of Apocalypse - Chapter 1

Dawn of Apocalypse – The Amulet of Krajak

Half-lidded amethyst eyes lazily watched the clouds above idly move by as their owner lied flatly against the soft bed made of freshly grown grass with both hands neatly tucked behind his head, his expression relaxed and at ease, almost lulled to sleep by the warmth of the sunlight streaming down from above along with the unrivalled softness underneath his back which no other bed in existence could mimic. It was, as the resting echidna noticed, a slow and uneventful day which promised no grandeurs of adventures and thrills. And if Knuckles was truly honest with himself, he did not resent that sense of tranquility as much as he so often outwardly claimed to. The lone echidna shifted his position a little to give his back a delightful stretch, ridding the stiffness felt there.

"Another peaceful day with hardly anything to do…" Knuckles murmured contently before a large yawn interrupted his sentence. He opened one eye a crack to enjoy the sight of a butterfly so gracefully passing by right above where he was resting. The small creature then chose to rest its wings directly on top of his nose, causing Knuckles to sit up, and with uncharacteristic gentleness rarely displayed toward other beings, he picked the small creature up and sent it on its merry away.

A grin broke on his face as he lied down again, immersing himself with the surroundings of his sacred altar located at the very heart of Angel Island. High above, his Master Emerald sat where it should be, shining radiantly as the sunlight above reflected upon its divine and luminous body.

The sweet scents of newly sprouted buds coming from all directions imaginable coupled with the gentle gusts of playful breezes that trickled his fur and dreadlocks occasionally sweeping and the welcoming tranquility which could hardly be felt in the current age and day all came together to compose a beautifully constructed composition that gradually eased the lone guardian's mind toward sleepiness, and for once, Knuckles welcomed the spell cast upon him by the natural orchestra and even allowed them to help his body relax. Hopefully, he could sleep the lazy day away before embarking on yet another adventure and treasure-seeking voyage the day after, on which he had already arranged for Mighty the Armadillo along with the rest of the Chaotix members, both current and former, to temporarily relief him from his perpetual guardian's duties.

It was a custom which both of them seemed to enjoy, albeit inwardly. Mighty and Knuckles had developed a strong bond with one another after their first adventure together, and the former would come and help him when he was available. His assistance was immensely appreciated, for it allowed Knuckles some personal time to satiate his own thirst for adventures when such urges grew too demanding for him to ignore.

With that thought circulating in his own head, Knuckles slowly felt himself drifting off toward the realm of sleep, his muscles relaxing. His eyes drooped, slowly and slowly. Sleep was surely upon him, until…

"What was that?" Knuckles, out of the blue, muttered and sprang up rigidly like the pieces of bread sticking out of the toaster when the timer chimed, alertness so drastically different from his previous carefree and lax expressions now taking over his face and mandating his actions. There had been a slight, yet still easily recognizable shift in the air, and faraway, he could spot the curious movements of the Flickies dwelling within the deep forests.

Everything pointed toward outside entering on the boundaries of his sacred land – a privilege he only allowed a select few to possess.

"That'd better not be Sonic again, or worse yet, Eggman and his idiotic robots…" mumbled the guardian with irritation. His mind was torn between heading toward the scene to investigate the matter, but the other half mandated that he remain where he was to protect the Master Emerald against troubles. The mental debate between his two voices raged on and on, nearing him toward the verge of a headache, but ultimately, it was the latter option which finally won his vote.

_The most precious thing on the island is the Master Emerald, so if anyone comes here other than Sonic, Tails and the Chaotix, they'll come to the altar,_ Knuckled mentally deduced, _and when they show up, I'll be ready to teach them a lesson on trespassing._

With his mind made up, Knuckles deserted his grassy bed at the foot of the great altar and headed up, now taking his position right before the sacred gem. May mercy be shown to those who sought the Master Emerald, for its guardian was now serious as he stood, majestically and proudly at the end of the stairs, looking over all four directions around with keen, analytical eyes.

Patiently, he waited.

Meanwhile, within the great forest of the floating island, Silver the Hedgehog, having just arrived, began to navigate his way out of the green labyrinth in which he had managed to find himself in. Everywhere he turned, trees and various other vegetations greeted his vision, making every direction appear the same and effectively trapping inexperienced wanderers within their serene clutches.

"Okay…" said the white hedgehog softly as he looked up, "Maybe I should… No. I've already flown quite a distance here, so maybe it'd be best if I conserve my strength for when I run into something serious. Luckily, the most noteworthy danger on this island is the guardian, and the rest are mostly environmental hazards which could be easily avoided. Let's just hope Knuckles is in a good mood today. And where's the Master Emerald?"

A sudden noise entered his ears from directly behind. With honed instincts and reflexes, Silver swiftly turned around, hands shining in anticipation for possible threat combat. What he saw, however, was a harmless little Flicky staring at him from a branch with big, questioning eyes – obviously one of the braver and more curious members of his flock.

Quickly, the hedgehog lowered his hands and cracked a smile at the little creature. "Why hello there little fellah," he said softly. "What are you doing here?"

The bird chirped excitedly, tilting his head inquisitively.

"Sorry, my, uh, _Flickish_ is a little bit rusty from disuse, so by any chance, could you repeat what you just said?" he added, grin growing a tad wider as he spotted understanding in those tiny eyes staring at him from above. As to be expected, a series of chirps entered his ears, and this time, they were produced in a slower manner to accommodate Silver's request.

"Ah, introduce myself?" said Silver after a brief moment of silence to remember the language, "Okay, my name is Silver, and I'm from… let's just say somewhere far away. As you can see, I mean no harm." He raised both hands up in a surrendering post to emphasize his point.

The other seemed to accept Silver's answer rather easily, evidenced by a nod, much to the hedgehog's mirth.

"Excuse me, Flicky. I was just wondering if you know where the altar of the guardian is. I have some urgent business I need to discuss with the guardian of this era - Knuckles the Echidna. It's about the safety of the island and possibly many other lives of the outside world."

The bird lingered for a while longer before taking off, beckoning Silver to follow with a whip of his little head. "Thank you!" he exclaimed joyously before following the creature through the forest.

The run lasted about fifteen minutes before Silver finally arrived at his destination. Before him stood the bridge leading toward the Master Emerald's altar, and on top of the altar was, unmistakably, the silhouette of Knuckles the Echidna, standing rigidly still with both hands crossed and feet rooted into the ground, maintain an ever watchful eye over his surroundings.

Hiding in the bush to conceal his presence, Silver looked around for a little while.

"No Gauche around… Maybe he's not here yet…" he mused. His thoughts were then, rather violently cut short by a shout, as thunderous and threatening as the most vicious claps of lightning imaginable.

"I know you're there. Come out!" shouted Knuckles at the top of his lungs, and in his imagination, Silver thought the earth beneath him had actually shaken in response to that cry.

"I'm going to give you to three before I make it rain rocks and boulders on your head."

"Okay! Okay! I'm coming out," Silver replied, yelling as loudly as he could, "Just… Just hold back those boulders please."

Wasting no more time, Silver exited the shade and revealed himself fully to the guardian afar. No more shouts were exchanged after that. Both hands still raised in the air, Silver began to cross the bridge and approached the altar. Once he arrived, Knuckles was already standing on the bottommost step, awaiting his arrival, but as Silver looked at him, he could spot a less than pleasant frown worn on Knuckles' face.

_Here we go again…_ thought Silver as he recognized that look, exasperated.

"What are you doing here, Silver?" Knuckles questioned a bit gruffly, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Nice to see you so well and energetic as ever, Knuckles," replied Silver, trying his best to appear polite and amiable despite the twinge of annoyance bubbling within him. His efforts did not manage to stop some of his held back sarcasm to drip out from his tone, unfortunately, which Knuckles managed to pick up.

"To be honest," said the guardian, "It's not that I don't like to see you here, Silver, but, uh…"

"Yes, so I've been told. Apparently my presence is usually associated with the sign of terrible things to come, past and future alike, I know," Silver cut in with a frown of his own, and from the way he spoke, Knuckles, now properly armed with more experience in reading people thanks to his more sociable friends, could pick up something akin to bitterness so expertly concealed behind the front of mild annoyance.

"I didn't mean it like that, Silver," he said, toning down the gruffness of his tone and sounding genuinely concerned for his distant acquaintance. _Acquaintance? Don't you mean friend?_ A voice inside his mind asked in a rather accusatory tone. Noticing a look of bewilderment on the younger hedgehog's face, Knuckles banished the silence between them and continued the conversation.

"As I was saying, I didn't mean it like that. I… Well, I'm… Actually, I'm glad you came to visit and looking well."

"Thank you," Silver replied, and the smile he wore this time did seem as courteously forced as the one he had displayed in greeting. "And I'm glad to see you well as well. But I'm afraid there's not much time for small talk and catching up."

"Oh?"

"Have you seen a guy that looks like a demon crawling around? Clad in a dark armor, with a tail, four slits for eyes?" Silver asked, but his words only brought one thing to the table – confusion, which spoke volumes on its own.

With a sigh of relief, Silver, one hand on his chest, spoke up again before Knuckles could form a reply. "Thank goodness I beat him to it."

"Pardon?"

"I'm on the hunt for a rogue robot called Gauche from my timeline, and based on the information written here," Silver produced the collected journal he had found earlier and presented to the guardian, "there's a high chance he's heading here to unleash whatever it is he wants to unleash, and knowing him and his associates, let's just say nothing good ever comes from their actions."

Knuckles accepted the given journal and began to skim through the pages, eyes darting from line to line in rapid succession before he reached the end. Minutes later, he slammed the material shut with a bang, his face darkened again.

"Another creep trying to abuse the Master Emerald, dang it!" he said darkly before making his way up the stair again. Silver followed closely behind.

"I will not allow anyone else to come here and take the Emerald as they please. The moment that Guts or Gust…"

"Gauche," Silver corrected.

"Whatever-his-name-is comes here, I'll recycle him on the spot. You mess with the Master Emerald, you mess with me."

"Noted," said Silver with a sheepish smile, looking as though physically repulsed by the invisible aura of hostility exuding out in stream from the echidna's form. "I'm not too keen on letting him run amok in the past, either, but if something I know well about that guy, he's an like eel that never stays still – slippery and sly and very hard to grab on."

"Sounds like someone I know in this timeline," the older sneered. "Bald, pompous, and infuriating."

"Trust me, they have a history with each other." With a roll of his eyes, he added, "But in any case, we should probably get ready before… Duck!"

"Before duck?" Knuckles halted halfway up the altar and looked back at his companion only to see the hedgehog, now coated in his telekinetic coat, held back a gigantic boulder thrice their sizes combined coming for their current position.

All of the sudden, a beam of condensed energy coming from the foot of the altar shot itself toward Silver's location from a perfect forty-five degree angle. With both hands currently tied, Silver was, unfortunately, hit with the full force of the energy discharge, consequently sending him sideway, off the stair and as the result, the altar itself.

"Silver?" yelled Knuckles, but before he could jump down to help, his ears picked up noises – footsteps quickly running up the steps toward his position.

Looking down, both Knuckles spotted a dark figure fast approaching him. Instinctively, the guardian stepped down and threw a lightning-quick right hand at the trespasser. His strike, unfortunately due to one second too late, impacted with thin air. Before he could retract his extended limb, a steel-cold, flexible tail wrapped itself tightly around the length of his arm.

"Afternoon mate," said his attacker to his face, a creature which perfect matched Silver's earlier description. "The name's Gauche, and you're an eyesore," Gauche added curtly before twisting his appendage, throwing Knuckles toward the bottom of the stair as a result. The echidna landed with a loud thud on his back, grunting as the sting radiated throughout his body.

"And that's one of my best _pickup_ lines," he heard the devil-like abomination shouting out from above, glee drenching his words, "Certainly _lifted you off your feet_, huh, macho. And I'm afraid Silver is currently… _stunned_ by the lighting effect for the next couple of minutes. So, more _me_ time," And without waiting for his opponents to get up, the robot ascended the rest of the stair, reaching the Master Emerald.

"What the heck do you think you're doing with _my_ Emerald?" Knuckles, getting back up to his feet and swiftly running after his enemy, shouted indignantly behind.

"Ouch, loud!" Gauche whined before he used his own ability to create a group of ten clones of himself. The main body, holding the stolen Amulet of Krajak in his hand, spoke to his detachments, "All of you, keep the two of them busy while I work the mojo on this thing."

The clones, laughing manically, broke into two smaller divisions, half heading down the stair to obstruct Knuckles' advance while the other half jumping off the altar and keeping the momentarily paralyzed Silver occupied.

"Get off of me, you pests!" cried the guardian, his face twisting up in pure anger as he enduringly stormed through the assaulting clones, bravely withstanding the torrents of paralysis-inducing energy beams hitting his body, submerging his senses in a whirlpool of excruciating pain. His mind unconsciously compared the horrendous ordeal with being repeatedly stung over and over again by an especially hostile horde of _paraponera clavata. _His entire body felt hot as though it was being roasted alive, mixed with throbbing sensations. The dreadful combination almost _forced_ him to his knees, yet, through sheer force of will alone, he persisted and resumed his advance.

"I said. Get. Off!" exclaimed the enraged echidna. Reaching his hand out, he managed to grab onto the first thing within his grasp, and luckily for him, it was a clone's tail. Using the captured creation as his weapon, Knuckles swung it around and knocked the rest of the attackers off from the altar.

"Now that's what I call taking someone out for a spin," the cloned in his grasp jested before it was met with a punch through the face.

"Shut up," said the echidna, irritated and pained at the same time. Ignoring the searing-hot sensations numbing his limbs, he continued his ascent and reached the top seconds later.

Once there, he was met with the sight of the real Gauche standing next to his Master Emerald, pressing the mentioned Amulet close to the sacred gem and absorbing its negative energy.

"Oh," Gauche began, noticing the presence of the guardian before him, "Don't mind me, I'm just here, minding my own business of bringing about the end of the world, nothing to worry about. So move along, _apple_."

"You. Are. Dead!" Knuckles grunted breathily before he charged forward, spikes flexed and ready for maiming. Gauche, unfazed, simply threw the Amulet up into the air, calculating to the exact millimeter so that when it came down, it was perfectly placed on top of the Master Emerald, continuing its automatic extraction of negative energy from the gem. Once done, the devilish robot personally moved forward to intercept the guardian himself, trading blow for blow.

"Ability users, yeah, now those are serious threats to me. Close-ranged combatants who rely solely on fists and skin on the other hand…" Gauche taunted as he evaded a left hook from his opponent. Swiftly, he returned with a low sweep using his extra appendage, disrupting Knuckles' balance.

Pinning the echidna down with his knees upon the other's arms, Gauche leaned in closer and stared at his opponent, slits shining ominously with a purplish hue, "I may be lacking in the physical prowess department, but I sure as heck make up for that with my superior dexterity over you inferior organic life-forms, apple, and now, with you weakened and mostly paralyzed, there's not really much you can do, is it? Now tell me, who guards the guardian guarding the guarded gem when the guardian guarding the guarded gem gets licked?"

"His friends!" yelled another voice, causing Gauche to lift his head. At that exact moment, a bunch of clones of his own making slammed straight into his face and sending him off Knuckles. The lesser Gauches subsequently landed on the original, crushing the latter under them. Before the real Gauche could muster enough strength to free himself, he suddenly found his body, along with the others trapped within a familiar aura of cyan, immobilizing him underneath the pile.

"Okay, okay, Silver, I know you probably _have a crush on me _with your stalkerish behavior and all the paparazzi-like stuff you do, but this display here is a tiny teensy tweensy titsy bit _heavy_, don't you think?" Gauche, ever the smart aleck he was fashioned to be, spoke in jest despite his sticky situation at present.

"Zip it, Gauche," the telekinetic hedgehog bit back, panting from the long-lasting effects of the paralytic beams he had been hit with earlier. "I'm not in the mood to listen to you running your mouth right now. It's high time I pulled the plug from this act as well. Also, I've already contacted the Time Guardians, and they should be on their way here soon to drag your sorry shell back to the future."

With that, Silver turned to the Master Emerald and, with a simple wave of his free hand, lifted the Amulet up and called the artifact over to his location. As soon as the object was safely secured in his grasp, a triumphant smirk formed on his face, for a moment overriding the agony radiating from every fiber of his being.

"Tsk tsk. Oh, poor, clueless little Silver, so naïve and ignorant," Gauche spoke in a highly patronizing voice, "You honestly think this act of mine is over? No, oh no. Far from it. What you just unplugged was simply the opening act – about ten percent to warm up the audience. The main one has yet to come."

"What do you mean?" Knuckled said this time, joining his ally's side. "And what were you doing with my Emerald?"

"Hah, wouldn't you like to know, right Red?" Gauche muttered, but nothing else was uttered when the pressure on his trapped body increased tenfold, crushing and forcibly cracking his armor in the process.

"Stop with your sick jokes and meaningless tirades and answer his question! Now!" Silver demanded coldly, his patience now dangerously low from the growing pain and the taunts.

"Oh Silvie, Silvie, Silvie. Like I said last time, I'm the funny man of the troupe; I _kill_ people for a living," Gauche laughed before for a moment before he recomposed himself. "But if you want, I suppose I could give you a bit of a story time. Ahem, once upon the time…"

"Can I smash him now?" Knuckles spoke with a scowl, slamming his namesakes together threateningly.

"No, he's riling you up on purpose," Silver interjected and placed one hand in front of his friend, blocking his advance. "Like he always does."

"Okay, you got me, well played," replied the robot with a snicker before he resumed his story, "Back in the ancient ages long past where wars were still as common as the meals of the day, the land was roamed with warriors trained for the specific purpose of participating in battles and campaigns, desperately searching for victories in the honor of their lords and rulers – loyal underlings those lot were, blindingly so. And you know those old stories. Those warriors of the old civilizations sought one thing and only one thing only: glorious deaths on the battlefield in service of their lords, specifically ones that would help to forever etch their names onto the surfaces of stone statues and memorials and epitaphs and yadda yadda yadda, immortalizing their souls for all eternity and blah blah blah.

But then again, not everyone got what they so desired. They sought glorified deaths on the battlefield, but there were ones caused not by battle, but of external forces, ones that would be considered pathetic. For example, many lost their lives to _sicknesses_ and _diseases_ of varying degrees. Some fell from _hunger _and exhaustion. Others, well, died in battles, but not with the enemies but among themselves – internal _conflicts_ and ingeniously orchestrated betrayals behind the curtains. The list went on and on and on. So basically, those poor warriors' souls, feeling cheated of their rightful glories, of their happy-ever-afters, were unable to cross the bridge to the afterlife.

And that was, according to the scrolls and books my creator has so painstakingly collected throughout the years, when some idiots had - in a burst of pure genius - turned to the forbidden arcane arts to help those poor buffoons finish their purposes in life, allowing them to move on. Those souls were brought together, bound together and molded together into one single being – an abomination that should not have been conceived in the first place."

Gauche paused a bit, looking at the faces of his opponents, before he carried on with his narrative.

"This mystically created being, nameless then, naturally got out of control. Imagine this: you put a bunch of war-mongering fanatics with one-track minds together under one roof, and what'll happen? If your answer is they'll freaking slaughter everyone in sight, you're right, so get yourself some candies and cookies, kiddies. This abomination - this artificial monster - began to lose control of its rationality soon after its birth, overwhelmed by the combination of the past warriors' insatiable lust for battle and bloodshed – gruesome it must have been – and their disdains toward fate for forcing such unjust ends upon them. Well, that and various other things that went wrong with the spells used to bind them together, and the result… mamma mia. This monster began its uncontrollable rampages across the lands, handing out deaths to the innocents and enemies that perfectly mimicked the manners by which the past warriors had met their own ends, malnourishment, hunger, sickness, epidemics, conflicts, destructions, devastations and of course, battles. And the worst part, it drove others around it mad with its magic, influencing them and turning them into its mindless puppets, _its_ _horsemen_ which followed its will. Sounds wonderful, isn't it? This is one tale I've never gotten tired of."

"Continue!" Knuckles ordered.

"Hey, give the storyteller a moment to catch his breath, will ya? And it's hard to tell a story when you're crushed underneath all of this." The pressure increased again, much to Gauche's displeasure.

"Ack! Okay, okay! Geez, tough crowd today… Ahem. So after experiencing the endless destructions and life losses at the hands of this monstrosity, the old coots decided to put a seal on it. Since it was made of negative, anti-life magic, the ancients decided to extract that same essence out of the beast and sealed it within a specially made amulet, which you're holding there right now. The chief of the operation then ordered his men to take that Amulet to a faraway land, where nobody could reach and risk awakening the ancient herald of death from its forced slumber. It was the same location you thrashed the other day, Apple. The ordered men, free of the burdens of war and tasked with the sole mission of keeping the Amulet safe, built a new civilization of their own in the East. They erected traps and buildings and hid the Amulet in the innermost location where they _presumed_ nobody could find. And yet some _idiots_ of the modern day just had to knock down the door and invited themselves in, which conveniently led to the Amulet being my possession. Bummer, huh."

"But now that's the Amulet is in our possession," Silver interjected, "You've already lost your chance of waking this monster, that is, presuming what you just told us is true."

"Oh, it's true, Silver, as true as the sun and the moon and as real as you and me. And to back up my claim, I think you're about to witness its revival _firsthand_."

All of the sudden, the Amulet in Silver's grasp let out an electrical discharge which caused immense pain to the already injured Silver and Knuckles.

"What?" the hedgehog grunted as he felt to his knee, dropping the amulet. With his concentration shattered, Gauche was free, and once he had shrugged off his listless clones, he walked forward and nonchalantly picked up the amulet, studying it with glee.

"This," he began, holding up the object for the others to see, "is a fake one I made for fun. Why do you, Silver, think that despite the head-start I had over you, I arrived later than you. Simple really, I took a trip elsewhere first to collect some machines to make this wonderful baby here. Looks legit, right. And how was the shock? Measured it myself. That's more than enough electricity discharge to incapacitate four freaking mammoths, so don't bother trying to get up. Stay seated and enjoy the show."

"You little…" Knuckles breathed out, attempting to get up to his feet but the numbness of his body prevented him from doing so, much to his anger. Gauche, still as casually as ever, stood next to the Master Emerald before looking at his opponents again.

"Riddle me this," he started, "When a magician performs an act on stage, in most acts, where does usually he hide the source of his "magic"? Well?" he paused, looking at the two, only to be greeted by their heated glares and hateful scowls. "No? Fine, the answer is backstage, right behind the curtain, like this!"

His prehensile mechanical tail then reached for the spot strategically located behind the Master Emerald, completely obscured from view by the sacred gem itself. At the end of the appendage was the Amulet itself, glowing in an ominous white light coming from the gem embedded on it.

"And voila! The real deal right here, placed behind the big bad gem just before you reached the altar. How do you like them apple, Apple?"

Knuckles' frown grew even more pronounced, and a snarl escaped his lips as he watched helplessly from where he was paralyzed. Silver was no different, eyeing his adversary with much disdain conveyed in his silent glare. Gauche, instead of being intimidated, relished in the attention.

"Now those are the loveliest expressions I want to see on a living organism's face – so full of hate and desperation and helplessness and disgust and everything else in between, so much negativity… Hah! But in any case, I think this baby right here is fed enough negativity, and now, prepare to be amazed!"

Placing the ancient relic down before the stunned duo, Gauche began to chant unintelligible incantations in some language lost in endless the passage of time. As the incantation grew louder and louder in volume, so was the blinding white light coming from the Amulet, forcing the helpless Silver and Knuckles to close their eyes.

"I release thee, mighty agent of Death!" Gauche finished his recital, and at once, everything was engulfed by a blinding, all-consuming burst of white. The burst lasted but for a minute, and when it was gone, everyone opened their eyes again and looked at the spot where the ancient seal had been placed.

The Amulet of Krajak was still there, but to Knuckles and Silver's amazement, it was now lying underneath the foot of another presence – a pair of pallid, deathly bare feet covered by a pair of boots of the old ages, leather they appeared to be. Slowly and warily moving their eyes upward, both Silver and Knuckles then saw the newly summoned creature before them in its entirety. A sharp, shocked gasp escaped Knuckles' throat as soon as he looked at the released monster. Next to him, Silver, too, was shocked to the point of speechlessness as he took in the appearance of the ancient beast.

"What do you think, Apple?" asked Gauche, "Just like looking straight into a mirror, isn't it? Well, except for the… apparent lack of blood cells. But hey, that fits the saying those humans like to use, right? _As pale as death_ and all that, which makes me curious, how do they know the color of Death? Hmm, oh well, never mind," The gleeful robot of the future then directed his gaze at the abomination he had just unleashed into the realm of the living.

The abomination was, in some mysterious way, almost the same in appearance to Knuckles himself – an echidna in appearance. However, instead of healthy red fur, this being possessed silvery white one, pallid and lifeless, and along his dreadlocks, traces of red could be spotted. The most dreadful things about it, however, as everyone was quick to notice, were its eyes: pitch-black sclera resembling the deepest, darkest of the abyssal depths which could easily suck in and swallow one's soul and never let it out again with one simple glance, and blood-red irises radiating with nothing – no trace of humanity - except for pure, uncontaminated malice and evil.

It took a while for Knuckles to process what he was gazing at, and when his control over his own vocal cords at last returned, he mumbled, shakily from the lingering shock, "How…How does it… An echidna? That's… That's not possible!"

"Oh, you better believe it, Knux," replied Gauche dismissively, "After all, every lock has a key which can either lock or unlock the lock on the whim of the users. So for this particular lock, that key is the Master Emerald, and which ancient civilization do you know had the means as well as the power to use this key?"

Knuckles' eyes widened again, realization dawning, "No… But that's…"

"Cruel, yes, inconceivable, I suppose, but undeniably true nonetheless. _Your_ tribe, Apple. 4000 years ago, _your_ beloved and hardheaded tribe painted more red on the various nooks and crannies of the ancient world than any other deceased civilizations combined with their endless wars against their enemies, who I'm sure you're quite aware of. And it was through the negativity stored within the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds that gave birth to this thing, granting this curious anomaly of anti-life an existence in this life. And shortly after sealing this little deathly mistake away from the world, they got destroyed by a gigantic water reptile of their own creation - again. Fitting end for a bunch of stupid war enticers and advocates, don't you think, Knucky? Well, I find that hilarious myself. I laughed my head off when I read those old scrolls back at home. Good times indeed!"

Silver tried his best to will his numb body to move, but his efforts were all for naught. Even channeling his energy for a psychic attack was proving to be a extremely difficult task, if not downright unachievable in his current state of being.

The echidna-like creature then, to Silver and Knuckles' horror and Gauche's delight, began to move, turning its head slowly and looking at the gathered individuals in turn, his expression void of all emotions. His lifeless eyes bored into Silver and Knuckles' own before they were set on Gauche.

All of the sudden, the creature reached forward summoned a dark, lightless gem with its palm. The gem began to move toward Gauche, who instantly reacted by jumping back.

"Black…_Our_ Black Horseman of Famine…" muttered the creature in a bone-chilling voice, sounding like a distorted version of various murmurs and otherworldly growls all rolled into one by a bad mixing job. It was, nonetheless, spooky to hear, and the fear it induced in others was profound, bringing involuntary shivers running up and down Silver and Knuckles' spines.

The materialized gem of darkness continued to move forward toward Gauche, but the robot, having already anticipated this event thanks to his amassed knowledge extracted from his excessive reading in the future, created a distance between himself and the creature.

"Submit!" the creature ordered.

"Nah dude, or dudes or dudettes or whatever the heck your collective genders are called. I'm not in the mood to ride them sissy ponies today, and my Chrono Belt is functioning normally again, so, ciao! Have fun with the others!"

Pressing a button on his belt, Gauche then created a small portal behind him. With one final wave to the still stunned Silver and Knuckles, he jumped in and, after an exuberant shout of "Happy Apocalypse!" removed himself from the scene and from the timeline altogether.

The black gem, without its host, then crumbled to dust an faded away from existence altogether.

"Our fellow Horsemen… Our fellow agents…" he creature spoke again in the same, emotionlessly flat voice of its. Its head then turned around, and its eyes met the other two. The horror returned to both Silver and Knuckles, both of whom, despite their best efforts, failed to overcome the long-lasting numbness that Gauche's device had afflicted upon them. Slowly, almost in a zombie-like fashion, the creature moved forward, and from its palms, one white gem and one red gem emerged out of nothingness.

"Stay back!" Knuckles shouted and willed his muscles to move in vain. Next to him, Silver suffered the same fate, and his telekinesis could only pick up and shoot tiny pebbles forward, all of which dealt non-existent damage to the charging pallid echidna abomination.

"Our fellow Horsemen… White of Pestilence and Red of War…Join us, our brothers and comrades…" it stated plainly.

With a simple wave of his hand, the two colored gems moved forward, little by little, gradually closing in on the trapped fighters' foreheads. Silver and Knuckles, now wide-eyed, captivated by terror, and yelling and protesting at the top of their lungs, tried to resist. Their vehement vocalized defiance regrettably fell on the ignorant ears of the pallid creature.

The gems moved forward and forward, slowly and slowly, until at last, they stuck themselves to their chosen hosts' foreheads.

Cries of pure agony and anguish were then heard echoing throughout the entirety of Angel Island shortly afterward, the severity and volume of which caused all Flickies to fly abandon their homes and frantically fly away for their lives…

The dawn of the end had begun as _three_ of the four self-proclaimed Horsemen, together, emerged from the altar of the Master Emerald. In their minds, one and only one purpose remained: the destruction of all lives in existence, if only to momentarily satiate their nihilistic purpose of existence...

* * *

**Author's Note: How was the chapter, dudes and dudettes? The overlooked glitch named _Wechnia_ by die-hard fans hailing from the old Knuckles' Chaotix game back in 1995 appeared now in the world of fanfiction, not Sonic exe , not Tails Doll. So please, if you have any thoughts regarding this latest story plot, do not hesitate to share with me. Like it? Hate it? The plot needs something more? In any case, I hope you enjoyed reading this latest installment. Have a nice day, everyone. I'm going to bed now. :) **


	29. Dawn of Apocalypse - Chapter 2

Dawn of Apocalypse – Part 2

A slight yet rhythmic shuffling accompanied by the sensation of feet - light, almost weightless - was felt tickling the fur on his head. It effectively aroused Tails from his blissful slumber. Blurry blue eyes fluttered carefully, slowly adjusting to the sudden change of brightness hitting them at full force, before they were open fully. The fog clouding his vision lifted, and he saw with perfect clarity - almost enchanting like a scene taken straight from the most wondrous of fairy tales he had so very often read about throughout his childhood - the image of an ever-blue body of water stretching endlessly toward the horizon afar. And to add more magic to the picturesque sight, the warm, midday sunrays rained down upon the restless water surface, painting the blue hue with countless touches of rich glimmering gold, consequently igniting the entire azure surface and coating it with a luminous sparkling sheen of fairy-like glitters – breathtakingly mesmerizing and appearing almost like a dream.

The light shuffling once again returned, ruffling his already messy bed-head and sending wild strands of golden fur pointing every which way. He looked absolutely ridiculous, or at the very least, in his mind he imagined he must have appeared ridiculous with his hair unkempt and untidy with grains of sand clinging onto them. Reaching one hand up to determine the source of the slight movements that had aided in shattering his restful sleep, Tails, however, felt the weight pressing down on it disappear. Instead, it had shifted onto his hand.

"Huh…" Tails muttered softly, torn between bewildered and curious. He then retracted his hand, and it was only then did he at last spot the one responsible for waking him up - a Flicky, female she appeared to be, and pink in color.

The tiny little bird was now perching contently on the fox's extended hand, gazing at him with big doe eyes, within which unconcealed hints of inquisitiveness and intrigue could be spotted, clearly conveyed through the sapphire blue orbs that were glimmering as though they held the very heavens inside.

It was hard for Tails, despite feeling somewhat regretful and a tiny bit annoyed that his most wonderful sleep in weeks had come to an abrupt end due to the little bird's intervention, _not_ to crack a small smile at her presence. And he did just that, leaning forward to face the smaller animal.

"Hello there," said the fox as he set the Flicky down onto the sandy earth, "What brings you here, little guy? Oh, excuse me, gal?"

"I'm afraid that would be me," said another voice coming from the clearing behind him. In an instant, Tails' attention was directed toward the source of that voice, and without fail, Sonic was there, surrounded by a flock of smaller creatures, all of which Tails recognized – at least the species, ranging from the ever-present Flicky to Rocky, Cucky, Pocky and Picky. They were hounding around their cobalt idol, greedily seeking for and happily soaking in the amount of attention they were being given.

"Hey there," Sonic continued, crying aloud from where he was seated, surrounded by the group of playful animals. "Nice of you to join us in this fine afternoon, Sleeping Beauty. By the way, nice bed-head. I sure wish I had a camera right now."

"Thanks a lot," Tails replied, fixing his hair and rolling his eyes at the expected comment. He then looked at the ocean and the sky again. The sun was on top, thus reinforcing his speculation that he had managed to sleep for approximately six hours. A look of surprise crossed his face for a moment at the knowledge before he eyed his best friend again, still trapped by the circle of his loyal animal fans.

"Huh," Tails began, smiling a little as the nearby Cucky climbed on Sonic's lap and lied there, treating as though it was the most comfortable nest in the entire wild world, "You seem to have your hands full with them, don't you, Mr. Popularity?" Tails added as he petted the Flicky perching on his hand. A content chirp reached his ears, further encouraging the action.

"Tell me about it," Sonic said, his face a mismatched fusion between one of humor and one which seemed to indicate mild annoyance at the blatant disregard of his personal bubble. However, it was more leaned toward the former than it was geared toward the latter, and all animals around seemed to have picked up on that fact, hence their insistent attempts at getting closer and closer.

"And when did this… capture start, pray tell?" Tails questioned, getting up to join his best friend where the other was sitting.

"About an hour-ish ago," Sonic answered with a shrug, "I was just getting up to stretch my legs and watching the sea while you were knocked out, and out of the blue, these little rascals jumped on me. They've been hanging out here with me ever since. Well, can't exactly say I don't appreciate the company of these little buggers. It's kinda hard to find one since this is a city after all," His hand, all the while, was affectionately patting the head of the nearby Pocky. The constant tippity-tappity noises made by his foot showed delight toward the gesture.

"Hey, that little one loves that," Tails remarked, smiling, as he entered the circle and sat down next to the hedgehog's side. Sonic returned the gesture with a half-grin of his own.

"Yup, I know these guys well, and I know all of their sweet spots, _everyone's_ sweet spots actually," he said before he gently traced one finger along the head of a blue-feathered Flicky. His singsong chirps were literally music to their ears.

"Speaking of which," Sonic started again, catching Tails off-guard when his free hand snaked itself around the unsuspecting fox's shoulder. Without warning, Sonic pulled his best friend into a side-hug, making the other gasp in surprise.

"Wha…" Tails began, but whatever else he was about to say immediately died down in his throat when he felt a gently finger scratching him, right behind the ear. Oh, the feelings…they were almost overwhelming, making his mind go blank and melt into the touch.

Slowly yet gradually, Tails leaned forward toward the touch, his eyes closed shut and his ears drooped, giving his best friend more access to the delightful spot. It felt absolutely amazing to have his ear scratched like that, and Sonic was doing it right, his mind, still hazy, thought.

"Like I said," he heard Sonic's chuckling voice penetrate his hearing, "I know all of _everyone's_ sweet spots. So tell me, how are you feeling, little fellah? Loosened up yet after that sleep?"

"Mmm… Yeah, a little…" Tails mumbled in delight, sighing audible as well, "Keep going, please…Oh yes, that… That hit the spot…" Tails added, sounding - in Sonic's opinion - very much like his younger self again during the times he had sleepily and innocently asked him for something before bed. The mere nostalgia brought forth by that thought was more than enough to bring yet another satisfied grin onto his lips. The movements increased in intensity, and in proportion, so did the fox's sighs in terms of volume.

And then, the divine feeling was gone, abruptly, leaving Tails yearning for more.

"Why didja stop?" the fox mumbled as he lied still, the lingering sensation continued to soothe his nerves.

"Oh I don't know," Sonic replied in a deviously playful tone – one that almost never failed to notify the younger fox of something of dubious and questionable nature, at times good and most of the time horrendously mischievous. Compelled by such knowledge, Tails immediately got up and scooted away.

Or at the very least, he had _attempted_ to scoot away. Unfortunately, there was no escaping the fastest creature alive when it came to reflexes. Sonic's hand, lightning-fast, wrapped around the young genius' waist, and then, without warning, commenced a tickling session, which, to the ever tricky Tails, was utterly torturous.

Within seconds, the entire area was filled with Tails' rambunctious and hearty laughter mixed with weak, breathy pleas for mercy that went unheeded.

"S-Stop!" he managed to form that one single order before the rest was blurred by his hysteric laughter. Sonic, naturally, did not heed his best friend's latest plead. He did the opposite, resulting in one uncontrollable laughing fox lying in a fetal position on the sandy earth, desperately trying and humorously failing to get away from his friend's expert fingers.

"Okay…E-Enough… Please… Mercy! Mercy!" Tails gasped out as tears began to leak out from his tightly shut eyes. His laughter, on the other hand, increased, both in loudness and in intensity.

"Oh come on," Sonic spoke, a teasing note present in his tone, "That's not how you ask me to stop. But I suppose it's been a few years, so I wonder if you still remember properly… Well, do you remember, Tails?" he asked, assaulting a rather sensitive spot on the fox's tummy with a series of pokes. Instinctively, twin tails wrapped around the area in hope of keeping his meddling hands away.

"Sonic…" Tails began, trying his very best to speak straight, "…is the best, handsomest, most awesome friend and brother on the planet…" Tails finished, and Sonic nodded in satisfaction with a smug and humored expression upon his face.

"Yup, and don't you dare forget it," said the blue hedgehog good-naturedly before he pulled back after having forcibly reduced his best friend to a breathless, tired chuckling heap of ruffled golden fur on the ground.

"You…are…the worst…sometimes," Tails muttered softly, still trying to regulate his breathing to an even level. It could take a while, he knew.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Sonic asked rhetorically and pressed one hand over his erected ear in a mocking gesture, blatantly _daring_ the fox child to repeat his statement.

"You're the _best_," Tails quickly corrected himself, and earned an exaggerated sagely nod of approval from the older hedgehog. The other animals, throughout the entire exchange, looked between the two friends with no small amount of amusement, some were even displaying adoration. It was, after all, hard to come by two live beings who shared such a bond with each other, despite them being so drastically different from one another.

"Okay then!" exclaimed the older of the duo as he placed the Cucky taking residence on his lap down and made to get up, wiping the grains of sand off his body. "Now that you're awake and refreshed…"

"Forcibly and so violently so, but yes…" Tails cut in with a lighthearted glare directed at his friend, but his remark was sadly lost to the wind.

Sonic, acting as though he had never been interrupted, finished his previous statement, "Shall we begin our _Guys' Hangout_? Or would you like to sleep some more and do that tomorrow? My social schedule is flexible, so it's your call."

"I think I've slept enough for now, thank you. Gotta save some for tonight, otherwise it's going to be another dreadful insomniac night for me again, and to be honest, I've grown tired of those."

"Wow… This coming from the _king_ of the night-owls himself… The world's ending, ladies and gentlemen!" Sonic jested with a whistle.

"Is it just me or are you actually more annoying than usual today?" Tails commented, his voice flat and eyes narrowed somewhat. Yet no anger was present inside those orbs.

"Hey, you forced me to sit still for more than six hours straight, bud," the hedgehog shrugged dismissively, "Gotta find something to do to let loose the excess energy I've… uh, _accumulated_."

"And that _something_ just happened to be _me_. Huh, wonderful, what an honor," Tails rolled his eyes and walked away with a childish pout on his face, his hands crossed in front of his chest rigidly. Sonic, still silently laughing at his friend's latest expression and posture, followed and in turn was followed by his legion of animal friends trudging closely behind. All of them appeared amused by the exchanges of the two anthropomorphic beings, and were curious as to what would transpire next.

"Oh come on, don't be all pouty like that, little buddy," said Sonic soothingly, but it was immensely difficult to get rid of the smirk tugging at the corners of his lips, especially when Tails was obviously not looking.

"Hmph!" Tails, defiant, turned away, avoiding Sonic's gaze, and picked up the pace. It was then that he heard soft sniggers behind him, prompting him to turn around to face the blue hedgehog.

"What?" asked the fox, tilting his head and raising one brow questioning, apparently bewildered.

"You look exactly like the time when you decided to go on a protest after I denied you of your, now what did you call that again, oh yes, _candy rights_ a few months after you moved in," Sonic said before he chuckled again. Tails' face grew redder a few shades, and with a feigned cough into his loosely balled fist, he turned away and resumed his walk-away, acting like the memory of that time did not affect him much.

"That was years ago, when I was still young," Tails mumbled in his defense, shaking his head a little to banish the returning reminisce to no avail.

"Young?" asked Sonic with an amused smirk, "Seriously?"

"Young-_er_!"

"Younger," said Sonic with another nod.

"Remind me to never let you stay still for six hours again," Tails said, but in private, he was moderately amused by the entire thing. It felt warm and familiar, and it had been far, _far_ too long since he had any real quality time with his best friend like this, just the two of them playfully teasing one another for the sake of having pure, harmless fun.

"Sure can do, capt." Sonic responded with a mock salute. And they both laughed a little, just like the good old times.

Their moment of mirth, however, was not meant to last.

All of the sudden, both of them heard, to their complete surprise, the scared whines coming from other animals around them. In an instant, Tails and Sonic turned around to observe the smaller creatures, only to have their bewilderment intensified tenfold when they spotted them shiver in fear of… something – something only they seemed to know.

At once, both the hedgehog and the fox were in front of the cowering group, looking at them with concerned expressions on their respective faces. Tentatively, Tails asked the pink Flicky in the front, "What's wrong?"

A series of hesitant, shaky chirps served as his response.

"Something's coming? Something bad and sinister?" Sonic interpreted, his casual and easy-going demeanor discarded in favor of a more alarmed and serious one. "Do you know exactly what it is?"

The Flicky along with the other animals shook their heads.

"Is it Eggman again?" Tails inquired, and again, simultaneous shakes of heads were seen.

Suddenly, the ears of the rabbit Pocky stood up, and it pointed toward the sky afar. Sonic and Tails directed their attention toward where the rabbit's paw was pointing, and only then did they spot a huge dark cloud – very much resembling a gigantic thundercloud. It seemed big enough to cast a shade all over the entirety of Emerald Town itself when it moved past.

"What is that thing?" asked Sonic, turning to his more academically inclined friend for answers. Sadly, the nature of this particular phenomenon was lost on the genius as well, conveyed through a slight shake of his head at the hedgehog's question.

"I don't know, either," said Tails, serious, "But it most certainly doesn't look like Mother Nature's doing. I smell a rat that it's Eggman acting up again, but we need more data first to ascertain… Maybe the equipments in my lab can tell us what that thing is and what it can do."

"Yeah, for now, that's our safest bet, so let's step on it," Sonic agreed before turning his head back to the others. "As for you guys, take cover! Things are going to get messy around here… I can feel it in my guts, and it's hardly ever wrong about anything."

"Except when you ingest more than a dozen of chilidogs, then it's all kinds of wrong," Tails, unable to pass the opportunity, quipped.

"Hardy-har-har," said Sonic, sardonic, "Alright, you win the Last Word category this time, but I'm so getting the next one. Now let's make haste before that thing gets here."

The creatures did as told, and within seconds, they scattered back to the forest from whence they had emerged. Sonic and Tails, at the same time, quickly made their way back to the latter's laboratory in town to determine the true nature of the strange occurrence.

Both of them had a sinking feeling that something big was about to come, and at that moment in time, neither Tails nor Sonic could have possibly guessed the severity of the storm they were about to weather.

…

Meanwhile, back in G.U.N base located in Central City, all three members of Team Dark had only arrived a few minutes ago, having finished escorting the newly captured weapon smugglers to their new living arrangements to await their trials. Before they could leave, however, they were summoned to the war room to meet directly with the Commander himself, who happened to be in the city for a business trip.

Nothing good had ever come from that, Rouge mentally joked with herself as he and her partners headed for the war room. And again, her intuition turned out to be correct the moment all three members set foot inside the confidential area, where the Commander had already been patiently waiting for their arrival. His face was completely solemn, and his posture stern as ever.

"I apologize for the sudden summon, Team Dark, but we have a situation at hand – a _grave_ one," he said, forgoing all manners of greetings and pleasantries and instead going straight for the heart of the problem. "We have recently received news that an unknown… _terrorist_ is causing mayhem and wreaking havoc in Westopolis. Our men there are trying their best to evacuate the citizens and fend the attacker off, but so far, their efforts have been fruitless."

"What?" asked Rouge, surprised, "_A_ terrorist, as in _singular_ form? As in, only _one_? You're not pulling me legs here, are you, boss?"

"No, I'm being utterly jokey to waste my own time as well as my men's," replied the Commander dryly before he grew serious once more, "Back to the matter at hand, to answer your other question, yes, there's only _one_, and he's creating more destruction than anything we've ever seen before," he confirmed with an almost mechanical nod of his head. "Luckily, we have received reports that the citizens living in the area have been successfully evacuated while those living in the city have been notified to leave as soon as they can."

"You mean to tell me that an entire army of G.U.N situated there can't even handle one single terrorist? I mean, what kind of people have they been recruiting there, a bunch of headless chickens?" Rouge continued, her tone incredulous and disbelieving before it turned calm again. "But no matter, do we even know the identity of the guy who's attacking the city?"

"Unfortunately, no," answered the Commander with a sigh, "According to preliminary reports, our base was attacked without warning, and most of our equipments were destroyed in the initial assault. As a result, we couldn't determine who or what had struck our base. And whatever this guy is, he seems to be very good at hiding in the shadows, stirring up troubles wherever he goes."

He then turned toward the screen and opened up the live satellite feed of Westopolis on the main screen along with various live feeds taken by the soldiers camping at the warzone on the smaller side screens. Rouge's eyes widened while Shadow's narrowed in suspicion. The heart of the city looked like a huge hurricane _and_ an earthquake had just swept right through it – countless vehicles were overturned and most of them totaled beyond recognition; nearby buildings had been smashed and many had even collapsed, consequently destroying a large portion of the highways. The utter devastation of the area resulted in a thick, almost impenetrable screen of dust and smoke covering the place, effectively obscuring vision and severely hampering all attempts at gathering intelligence made by the troops on site.

Upon closer inspection, Rouge, Shadow and Omega could spot a silhouette moving swiftly through the pebbles. The figure of the alleged enemy was small and slim. He also seemed to move with extreme agility, and boasted unbelievably power in terms of physical prowess, evidenced by the fact that he – as witnessed by everyone - singlehandedly lifted a G.U.N truck and threw it into the air and toward a battalion of G.U.N soldiers securing the perimeter like it was a weightless object. The thrown vehicle violently impacted with the ground, and at once, a massive explosion took place. The human soldiers were sent into a state of complete disorder and panic and were all forced to retreat before any lives could be claimed in the one-sided skirmish.

Turning around to look at his three best agents, the Commander coughed politely, gathering their attention, before he spoke.

"As you can see, the situation at hand is a dire one. We don't know who or what we're dealing with, but based on what you are witnessing here, the enemy is few in number but great in power if he can take on an entire army on his own. Whether this is a new biological weapon of Eggman's design, some form of alien life-forms awakening on Earth or some crazy lunatics trying to make a statement, it's now your job to look into it."

"Right," replied Rouge, crossing her hands in a casual manner, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, "First we dealt with a crazy devil-like robot, and now we're dealing with a total nutcase tearing an entire city brick from brick. Two consecutive jobs in two days... No rest for the weary, I suppose."

"That outline, that level of strength, those techniques…" said Shadow this time, his eyes trained intently on the swiftly moving silhouette captured by G.U.N troops. A thoughtful hum escaped his throat, and his face was accordingly set in a stern, musing expression as he mentally formed a theory of his own.

"Someone you know, Shads?" Rouge asked in jest, and was understandably surprised when Shadow nodded. "Seriously? Huh… You sure have a shady circle of friends, excluding _moi_, of course," she added with a raised tone as she looked back at the figure on the screen.

"Come on," Shadow, ignoring his partner's remark, spoke up and walked away. "I have an idea who that terrorist is, but there's still a chance I may be wrong. But we're about to find out soon enough." Shadow then took out his emerald, ready for an instantaneous warp.

"Good luck, Team Dark," spoke the Commander with a salute. "We are counting on you. Be safe out there."

"If we make it back alive, I am so _demanding_ a _raise_, so expect that along with my report, Commander," Rouge said, half joking and half serious.

With their order received and objective set, all three members of the most infamous G.U.N. agents then teleported toward the designated location and started their latest mission.


	30. Dawn of Apocalypse - Chapter 3

Dawn of Apocalypse – Part 3

From the dome-like construction shaped to perfectly mimic its builder and owner's head, a large telescope emerged from the hatch cleverly built into the ceiling, the same one Tails had been using every single time he visited his summer home in Emerald Town in his free time to observe the tranquil and ink-like night sky, which was always riddled with numerous heavenly sparkles that enlightened the darkness in an almost mystical fashion, filled to the very brim with mysteries that had for centuries upon centuries challenged the ingenuity and provoked the fascination of men across the eras to explore. However, at the moment, that telescope was not being used for such a recreational activity, and it was still very much midday where the genius and his hedgehog friend were.

However, to those who had gazed toward the upcoming and foreboding cloud of darkness shrouding the horizon afar, they would, if asked, have a very different idea completely. It certainly did _not_ look like it was day at all.

It was perhaps, from the perspective of the residents of the town, more geared toward something akin to the coming of a catastrophe, or maybe a sign of an approaching cataclysmic event that would henceforth plunge the world into a state of darkness and chaos unimaginable – one which nobody had ever once been informed of, resulting in the current situation where all nooks and crannies of the streets below being filled up with panicking civilians running around in a state of complete disarray. They were acting in a manner not unlike that of snakes with their heads chopped cleanly off, promptly ignoring the instructions that were being desperately issued by local authority figures in uniforms in favor of getting a quick getaway with their lives.

The ever peaceful and quiet suburban lifestyles of the content residents of Emerald Town were, in one single moment, completely turned upside down. As a consequence, a scene of chaos of epic proportion was painted. The present officers' efforts to control the wild crowd of anxious people were, in short, utterly fruitless, but bound by their oaths toward their duties, those people and animals in uniforms still stayed rooted to the posts at which they had been assigned, doing whatever they could in their power and helping as many as they could before the upcoming storm (the people of Emerald Town assumed that was what the cloud-like phenomenon was in essence) hit the city at full force.

Everything was a gigantic mess – one big collage of frenzied disorder and mass anxiety.

However, in even when faced with such a strange and unexpected occurrence, two individuals still opted to stay behind to investigate further instead of following the others in their escape.

Inside the cozy fox-shaped abode located at the very heart of the small beachside town, Sonic the hedgehog was waiting. Ever the living incarnation of impatience given flesh whenever he was made to remain stationary for a prolonged period of time, he was tapping his foot repeatedly against the floor with his the tip of his sneaker, eliciting a rhythmic series of tap-tap-tap noises. Tails, on the other hand, was hard at work, setting up his telescope to see what the upcoming cloud of blackness and zooming in.

"Well?" asked Sonic, and Tails was once again amazed with how impatient five minutes could make him, but in all fairness, the fox had made his hedgehog friend endure a six-hour session of sitting still earlier, so whatever comments he was about to make in retaliation to the repeated question, he held back and focused his energy on his task at hand first. Sonic, unfortunately, had a nasty habit of making his presence known regardless of circumstances, much to Tails' dismay.

"Yo! Have you found out what that is yet, Tails? What is it?" Sonic pressed again, eyes narrowing. Ten seconds passed, and the fox gave no response.

"What is it, Tails?" Sonic repeated, his voice noticeably deeper and more urgent this time.

And this time, he actually got a reply, but rather than words, Sonic received a sharp gasp of pure _shock_.

"Tails?" asked Sonic, his face stern.

"I…I don't believe this…" stuttered the young genius as he tore his eyes away from the tool and looked at his best friend, eyes wide in disbelief and his mouth agape, "I…I don't believe what I'm seeing right now. It's not possible. It's improbable! Highly unlikely! Implausible! Inconceivable! Ludicrous! It's…It's ridiculous...It's..."

"_It's_ starting to get my head to _hurt_, Tails," Sonic cut in and held out his hands in a placating fashion in front of the sputtering genius. Pleased with the silence, he added, "As much as I enjoy hearing you display your wonderful vocabulary taken from your thesaurus-like memory, I'll have to pass this time. Now then, slow down a little. Take deep, cleansing breaths, and then we'll start over from the top, okay? Okay."

Tails did as requested, taking in a deep inhalation of oxygen and slowly breathing out. The process was done two more times before the fox finally managed to regain his composure.

"Okay now?" asked Sonic with a small grin.

"I'm alright now, thanks," replied the other, returning the gesture with a smile of his own. "Sorry about that little outburst.

"Little...Pfft," Sonic huffed and rolled his eyes. "Since when did you ever do anything _little_?"

Tails ignored him and went on, "It's just what I saw gave me the chills…and definitely not the fun kind," he paused a little to shiver, eyes screwed shut and tongue shot out in pure disgust as he tried and miserably failed to rid his head of the newfound knowledge. "I think I'm going to have new sets of nightmares for the next couple of weeks."

"Alright, alright, I'll grab my set of mufflers and sleep over for the next couple of weeks to make sure that doesn't happen," Sonic jested, "For now, we have more urgent things to worry about. So do tell, what exactly is it that you saw?"

"Something that should not be seen and now, regrettably, cannot be _unseen_," replied Tails, both hands placed in front of his mouth as if to stop whatever inside from coming out. In a nasal voice, Tails continued, "Remember when I said I _smelt a rat_?" he paused momentarily, waiting for the other to answer.

Sonic robotically nodded, out of obligation, not understanding.

"Well, to be absolutely honest with you, I'm one-hundred percent sure I didn't mean that in a _literal_ sense," Tails continued, his face twisted up in revulsion once more as he spoke.

"Wait. Hold, hold on for a sec and rewind that part a bit, please," asked Sonic, skeptical and bewildered, "Literal? As in _literal _literal?" he added, confused still.

"Yup…"

"You're pulling my leg here, right?"

"Nope," Tails answered again with a shake of his head and walked toward the door, "If you want, do feel free to check it for yourself, but try not to freak out too much. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go and rinse my eyes after that…horrid image. The horror…Horror!"

And with that, Tails was gone. As soon as the door closed, the unmistakable noises of footstep quickly running through the halls could be faintly heard, followed a few seconds later by another faint, almost inaudible noise of door closing.

Back inside the room, Sonic stood and looked at the telescope with a bit of confusion radiating from his emerald eyes, lost in his own thoughts regarding what he had just been told.

"Literal _rats_? _Floating_ across the _ocean_? Hah…Sounds like _someone's_ been losing sleep for _way_ too long and now his mind's gone all _kukku_," he mumbled to himself and walked toward the telescope. "There's no way on Earth that can be… _Sweet_ _Light Gaia almighty_!" he exclaimed loudly in surprise the very moment he pressed his eye into the scope and gazed at the dark cloud.

Countless upon countless more squirming, overgrown figures of red-eyed rodents entered his vision all at once, forcing Sonic to take a step backward on instinct. He had seen a lot of things throughout his entire life – robots many times his size, battleships which could easily cover an entire city, aliens which give people energy to accomplish feats unimaginable, ancient gods with powers immeasurable and unrivalled and many, many more incomprehensible sights which would stun and shock the average men into believing himself mad with the surreal delusions wrought by his own mind.

But never before had he seen a pack of millions of gigantic rats soaring in the air and crossing the ocean, their mouths open, their teeth sharp and appearing more than ready to main everything in sight to nothingness. That was unsettling as it was disgusting indeed.

"Told you it was literal. Oh, and by the way, nice shout. A little bit...um..._pitchy_," said Tails' voice coming from the door, prompting Sonic to turn around and regard his best friend, not even realizing how wide his eyes were at the moment. However, with a shake of his head, his face returned to normal.

"Now I know it's _not_ normal."

"Ya think?" Tails quipped. "It's a gigantic pack of millions of _rats_…_flying_ over the sea!"

"Okay, dial down on the volume a notch, little bud," Sonic, having regained his composure, replied before his lips momentarily twitched upward in a small humored smile directed at the fox, "For someone of your humble stature, you sure pack a pair of healthy lungs…But in any case, how can rats just…fly across the ocean like that? Are there some sorts of machines that can do that?"

"Well, if you had looked a bit closer, you would have seen a very faint white coating around the rodents, which must be coming from some form of tractor beam. I mean, anything can happen on this planet, and even I can make one of those if I want, but not like I would ever attempt something of this magnitude and lunacy! And this doesn't look like one of Eggman's harebrained schemes. After all, animals serve him better as his living batteries for his war machines than as his actual enforcers."

"Then who is behind this and what's causing this?"

Tails shrugged, "Beats me. I mean, aside from the energy coating, I can't see past the rats at all. Also, my machines are picking up some strange energy reading coming straight from that pack of rodents, right in the middle of them to be exact. But what is emitting that enormous amount of energy - I don't know."

"I see," Sonic mumbled, thoughtful. After a while, he looked up again and looked at his best friend, who was still waiting what the other would do about this situation. "So Tails, care for a flight?"

"Yeah, seeing as the weather is particularly _lovely_ right now. The sky is clear and there's a _definite_ probability of it raining _rats_ down on all of us and all that jazz – _perfect for an aerial spin_! And on a different note, I've heard the saying it rains cats and dogs, but never _rats_, and never meant to be understood _literally_!"

"Is that a yes?" asked Sonic, his face showing nothing but absolute amusement at the antics displayed by his best friend. In response, Tails sighed tiredly and dragged a hand down his face with exaggeratedly slow motions to emphasize his annoyance. Then, in a series of mumbles that came from his thin-lined lips, all of which sounded strangely similar to a child's whine when things fail to go his desired way, he spoke up in response to the hedgehog.

"…Yes…"

And swiftly, the duo made their ways down the fox's garage, which served as his hangar for his ever reliable and newly modified Cyclone in its two-seated car form for easy storage. A few minutes later, both brothers took off on the car toward the beach. Thanks to the fact that everyone was going on the opposite direction, they were free to accelerate toward the necessary velocity needed to support their takeoff. Once they reached the desired speed, the Cyclone changed back into its plane mode and took to the air.

"This is not going to be pretty," Tails, now dressed from head to toe in a disinfected suit to prevent contacting anything strange from the suspicious looking rodents along with his partner, who was currently taking residence in the rarely used backseat of the modified plane, moaned and winced as he purposefully piloted his prized creation toward the rat cloud.

"Hey Tails ol' buddy, come on, let's look on the bright side of things here…" Sonic started, but did not know how to finish that thought, at least not in a logical way.

"_Yeah_?" Tails asked, dragging his word out in a blatantly sardonic and challenging manner. When Sonic did not answer, he nodded and carried on with his speech.

"Sonic, that's the _bright_ side," he cried aloud, jabbing his thumb backward at the direction of the town they had just departed from. Then, in the same, dry and flat tone, he continued, only this time pointing at the masses of rodents right before them, "And that…Well, I'm sure I can think of a few adjectives to describe that, but _bright_ as well as _every_ _synonym_ associated with _bright _and_ positive_ I can think of is most definitely _not_ included in that list."

"Alright, duly noted," said Sonic, "Never mind that then. Let's just go and find out what's keeping those rats afloat and shut it down. The faster the better."

"And the sooner I can go home and rinse my eyes again. Or maybe work on a memory-wiping machine to void therapy."

The Cyclone then accelerated even further as it promptly charged straight forward, racing toward the very heart of the never before seen phenomenon.

…

Ten seconds in, and Tails was already starting to feel sick – _very_ sick. Two minutes after attempting all aerial maneuvers known to men in various attempts to throw the rats that had managed to stick a landing onto the Cyclone's wings, Tails was getting both sick and moderately irritated.

_Dodging a horde of homing missiles is definitely easier than this_, he thought with a frown, _and most definitely less nausea-inducing. _

"Need a puke bag, buddy? There's one right here," asked Sonic as he looked at his best friend and pilot from the backseat, worry taking over his facial expression.

"Not helping, _buddy_," said Tails through gritted teeth as he expertly maneuvered his aircraft through the tight space available between the rats. The lack of color other than the dominant shade of black and various dots of red watching him through the cockpit was, by all means, bloodcurdling. Unfortunately, he was already too deep inside the pack, and thus was left with no other choice but to move forward.

"Oh, I just thought…"

"Never a good thing in _my_ book, Sonic," Tails cut in as he sharply steered the plane, narrowly avoiding a group of vicious rodents floating in the air.

"Funny you should say that," replied Sonic, tapping his chin, "And now, I have a sudden blast of déjà vu and seem to remember that an obnoxious _someone_ said that exact sentence to me, with the exact words spoken, once at some place…at _some_ _time_."

"In case you haven't noticed, _now_ is not exactly the best time to reminisce your little time-space _misadventure_, Sonic," Tails retorted, a tinge of thinly concealed annoyance audible in his selected tone, "Now, please, oh _please_ stay still and let me do my job in _peace_, okay, otherwise we may end up in _pieces_. It's hard enough to make sure these rats don't bite the wings off. I need to focus here, that is unless you fancy plunging down for a _swim_."

Sonic involuntarily shuddered at that idea.

"Roger that, captain Tails," the hedgehog replied quickly and leaned back against his seat, enjoying the aerial horror ride through the cloud made of rodents. "Radio Sonic switching off."

Inwardly, even the hedgehog himself was sure he would be cursed with his own sets of nightmares after they got back from this, alive of course.

Five minutes or so had come to pass, but to Tails, it felt as though it had been an eternity before another hue other than the dreaded red or the foreboding black entered his vision – white, a pure, radiant shade of white which perfectly matched the coating of energy levitating the mysterious rodents and stood in great contrast with the thick hues of black around the plane.

"Alright, Sonic," Tails said to his partner as he made his way past the last of the rats, "We've finally arrived at our…target…" his eyes then widened as he looked at what was waiting for his arrival at the center of the pack of rodents.

"What in the world…" Tails, still dazed by what, or rather, _who_ was levitating right before his eyes, vaguely heard Sonic mutter behind him, his voice clearly conveying his undisguised _shock_.

In the middle of the clearing, a being of white hovered, his entire body covered from head to toe by a light coating of pure white aura where cyan should have been. His eyes, eerily and hauntingly empty and lifeless sclera completely devoid of their familiar warm and gentle irises of amber hue, stared straight at Tails and Sonic. In the middle of his forehead, a white gem shone brilliantly, emitting an energy reading unlike anything Tails had ever seen before.

"_Silver_?" exclaimed the two brothers simultaneously inside the cockpit in utter shock and disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

The addressed hedgehog said nothing in return, and only silently gazed at the aircraft before him, critically and analytically.

"Silver?" asked Tails again. However, before he could say anything else, the psychic hedgehog raised his hands up, both of which were pulsing with ominous psychokinetic energy. In an instant, a psychic-based bow formed in one hand and a large, luminous arrow in the other. The newly conjured arrow, which more resembled a huge javelin, was pulled all the way back and directly aimed for the bug-eyed pilot inside the cockpit.

"That…doesn't look good…" Sonic muttered, placing a hand on Tails' shoulder and giving the fox a slight shake.

"No…it doesn't…" Tails, dazed, managed to give a small, muffled sputter in reply.

"_Run_!"

And only a split second later after that exclamation, a massive and thunderous explosion was heard coming from the exact location where the Cyclone had once been…

…

"Man, this place is an absolute mess!" Rouge, upon arriving at the site thanks to Chaos Control, immediately cried aloud as she darted her eyes around the devastated downtown of Westopolis. Everything in sight was deathly still and drenched in a veil of unnerving silence. The only noises that entered their ears would be those belonging to falling pebbles, echoing hollowly amidst the destruction.

"It's like a massive typhoon just swept through here, followed by an earthquake _and_ a tsunami all at once," she commented offhandedly and walked around the area, meticulously looking for any signs of the mysterious terrorist they had been tasked with apprehending. Behind her, Shadow and Omega, serious as always, followed closely and exercised extreme alertness. Their eyes and scanners constantly flew from one pile of debris to another in rapid succession.

"I don't see anything suspicious," said Shadow, his Chaos Emerald tightly held in his hand and ready to be used should anything happen. After a brief pause, he turned to his robotic partner and asked, "Omega? Do your scanners pick up anything of interest?"

"Negative. No life signs detected within the vicinity. This area is clear," answered the battle machine, emotionlessly as ever.

"At least we know that everyone's evacuated to safety already, so there'll be no unnecessary hindrances to our activities here," Shadow said, "And with G.U.N. maintaining their perimeter outside and seeing nobody coming out, that effectively makes this place a battle arena between the three of us and our lone target."

"You said that like it's a good thing," Rouge, joining her partners, spoke up, "Honestly, being trapped in a dead city with a raging maniac that can toss a truck into the air like anyone would a pile of confetti…Let's just say that's _very_ far from my ideal idea of a _break_."

"Stop complaining and get your head in the game," Shadow, not paying much attention to his partner as always, demanded. "The sooner we neutralize the threat, the sooner you get to go home…"

"Sure…Sounds like a plan," replied Rouge with a huff. Suddenly, her sensitive ears twitched as a very soft noise hit them, one that was perhaps too soft and far too quiet for even Shadow with his acute senses to pick up and, as she noticed, worldly different from the ones being constantly produced by pebbles and rocks hitting the earth. This one was, as Rouge deduced, more like shoes scraping against the ground, muffled by the other, more prominent sounds.

Footsteps, she concluded as years of experience kicked in, very familiar footsteps to be precise - Well-disguised footsteps amidst the cover created by the sizzling of flames and the impacts of rocks and pebbles.

Whoever this enemy was, he was quite a cunning rascal in his countermeasures against a bat, Rouge privately admitted to herself.

_And one of the perks and the downfalls of being born a bat with hypersensitive hearing: always the first to notice something's wrong and then have to convince a usually tough crowd that you're not delusional,_ she thought and inwardly sighed. Then, she turned around at a crudely demolished Soleanna embassy. The once great structure was beyond repair, reduced to a heap of worthless junk and rocks, and even the flag of the nation was being gradually reduced to ashes by the merciless flames.

"What's wrong?" asked Shadow as he noticed the subtle changes on the bat's face and gaze. The relaxed and ever carefree expression that usually adorned her face was gone, replaced by her _game_ _face_, as she had dubbed it herself.

"Footsteps. Very light footsteps coming from beyond the Soleanna embassy, about a mile or two," Rouge replied and raised one hand up to silence the other two. "And now, it sounds like…something's hitting against the ground, and I can feel slight tremors as well."

Immediately, Shadow crouched down and placed one hand on the earth. True to the bat's claim, he could sense a faint rumbling hitting his palm.

"Omega," said the hedgehog, his voice stern, "Use your scanners on that direction and see if you can pick up on anything."

"Acknowledged."

Omega's eyes lit up as he zoomed in. It was then that he spotted a shadow. Cross-referencing with the silhouette he had seen earlier at base, Omega then produced the result: 98% match in terms of physique, features and height.

"Target acquired," said the robot, "Distance: two miles. Counteractions required. Suggested action: Homing missiles to neutralize the threat."

"Do it," ordered Shadow. At once, a barrage of deadly projectiles were launched from the last E-series robot, all of which were locked onto one single target afar. Five seconds later, a deafening explosion sounded, accompanied by a huge burst of flames that could be spotted from a far distance.

"Nice show of fireworks, Omega," commented Rouge from her current vantage point in the air. "You think that did the trick?"

"Can you see anything?" Shadow inquired.

"Negative," Omega answered. "No life signs detected. Probability of survival: Extremely slim."

"But not impossible..." Shadow muttered to himself, his posture rigid still and his eyes brimming with skepticism.

"So, is it mission accomplished or…" Rouge started once more, but that was as far as she could get when Shadow suddenly disappeared in a swift flash of light. "_Not_. And there he pops without telling anyone anything. _Again_!"

The dark hedgehog remerged only seconds later on the scene. Except for the obviously destroyed area along with the newly burnt ground where Omega's missiles had hit, there was absolutely nothing suspicious around - no life, no target whatsoever.

The ground was a different matter.

Crouching down next to a small hole right in front of him, Shadow narrowed his eyes and studied it. It was small, but still large enough for an individual of his stature to fit in. Shadow placed one hand on the ground and the other pressed against his communicator inside his ear.

"I found a burrow over here," said the hedgehog, "It seems like our target's escaped underground and survived Omega's attack."

"Roger that," replied Rouge, "I'll inform the Commander to station some men in the sewer systems. This place is too big for only the three of us to cover, and also…What was that?" Rouged asked. Shadow, having heard that noise also, said nothing. Instead, he silently turned his head and glanced around at his back.

"Another tremor," he spoke again after a few seconds. "And there's no need to call the Commander, Rouge."

"The target's there, isn't he?" on the other line, Rouge asked, rhetoric.

"Yes, and now, my theory is confirmed, without a single shadow of doubt," Shadow replied shortly before he switched off his communicator. Standing up and turning fully around to regard his opponent, the dark hedgehog's face was set in a perfect stone-cold expression, calm and composed. His cold crimson orbs shone with a sense of subtle wariness and reservation as they bore deeply into the eyes of his newly emerged opponent, in which only the white sclera was present. The familiar irises of amethyst were not there.

"I had my fair share of suspicions it was _you_ when I watched the feeds, but I didn't want to believe it until now. Now, everything is clear so it would seem," Shadow said, his voice low and measured and his gaze fixed on the blood-red gem embedded into his target's forehead, glowing radiantly and standing out in great contrast against the thick screen of dust and smoke around them. "After all, those spikes on your fists are impossible to hide, Knuckles."

In response, the guardian in red said nothing, his expression neutral. Silently, he stared at Shadow, showing absolutely no sign of having heard what the other had just said. The hedgehog, however, paid his behavior no mind.

"I don't know what sort of brain control you're currently under or who's pulling your strings, but I suppose I'll find out right now. So...apologies in advance for the rough treatment, but I must carry out my mission."

"Black…" Shadow heard Knuckles mutter the word. Before he could even find the time to process the meaning behind it, the echidna lunged forward at top speed, his fists pulled back and his spikes flexed.

An earth-shattering punch was thrown forward at full strength, no mercy nor restraint shown. Two ultimate fists belonging to two of the world's best fighters collided with one another with a resounding bang, sending the large piles of rocks and debris around their position flying every which way with the massive shockwave their impact generated.

"Trust me, Knuckles," Shadow said as he insistently refused to budge and stubbornly held his own ground against the other powerhouse, his voice steely and his eyes narrowed, "When I'm finally through with you, you'll be _black_ and _blue_ all over. And I will have some answers, one way or another."

And with that declaration, the fight officially began.


End file.
